E-commerce- The impact of internet techology on retailing

E-COMMERCE: THE IMPACT OF INTERNET TECHNOLOGY ONRETAILING

by

Lucy Chineze Nwoffiah

DISSERTATION

Submitted in partial fulfilmentof the requirements for the degree

MAGISTER TECHNOLOGIAE

in

BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS

in the

FACULTY OF BUSINESS INFORMATICS

at the

CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Supervisor: Professor A J Bytheway

March 2006

ii

STATEMENT OF OWN WORK

"I declare that E-commerce: The impact of Intemet technology on retailing

(Title of thesis) is my own work, that it has not been submitted before for any

degree or assessment in any other University, and that all the sources I have

used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of

complete references".

. ~ .

NWOFFIAH LUCY

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I give my gratitude to God Almighty who kept me alive to finalise my paper.

To my parents Mr and Mrs G.N Nwoffiah, my brothers Ben, Eugene, Charles.

Gabriel and my sister Joy, a big thanks for the moral and financial support

and for giving me the opportunity to obtain a good education. My special

thanks also go to my fiancee, for his support and prayers

I owe a special thank you to my Supervisor, Prof. Andy Bytheway, for his

constructive advice, guidance, encouragement and tremendous support

towards the finalisation of this research. My gratitude also goes to Ann

Bytheway, for her willingness to edit my thesis and her constructive

comments.

I would also like to thank Rolf Prosky for his library assistance and Darlington

Onojefe for valuable contribution towards the completion of this research.

My gratitude goes to the Business Informatics Staff members, especially to

the Office Management and Technology team who gave me so much support

and encouragement to finalise this research.

Thanks are due to the 50 respondents who completed the survey, and to the

following e-retail professionals: Yahya Patel (Musica, Cape Town), Mojeed

Biobaku (Woolworths, Cape Town), Eldred Lawrence (Pick'n'Pay, Cape

Town), Jennifer Schreuder (MegaShopper, Cape Town), Warien Moss (Digital

Planet, Cape Town), Chike Nwoffiah (Oriki Theater, USA) and Deffria Bass

(T-Shirts for the Soul, USA).

iv

ABSTRACT

Where customers have freedom of choice, their level of satisfaction will

determine if they are loyal, long-term and profitable customers. If customers

are not satisfied they will take their business elsewhere.

The increase in the level of satisfaction in key element areas would increase

overall customer satisfaction and increase customers' future behaviours such

as purchasing on the Internet and recommending the e-retail websites to

others.

This thesis also explains in the previous chapters that early adopters of e

retailing exhibited more of the elements of service transactions than goods

transactions and that these elements best explain the e-retailer-consumer

relationship. Creating the trust between a customer and its service provider

{e-retailer} is one of the key factors in ensuring customer loyalty and

retention. Other challenges that were discussed include controlling customer

data, integrating on-offline orders, delivering goods cost effectively and

handling of returns. Strategies e-retail businesses implement and use in

improving product and service quality, gain market share and maintain

greater customer loyalty were discussed in this research.

If the e-retail businesses can continue to improve consumers' satisfaction

they will be rewarded with continued improvement in overall customer

satisfaction, customer loyalty and retention and increase profitability. While

the Internet certainly poses new challenges for e-retailers, and offers them

invaluable new tools, a spate of new research suggests that there is no

reason for traditional retailers to consider themselves doomed. The big

question is: how does Internet technology assist e-retail businesses to create

loyal e-customers?

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF OWN WORK

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO RESEARCH PROBLEM

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

1.3 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

1.6 DELINEATION OF STUDY

1.7 OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Page

ii

iii

iv

2

2

2

3

3

3

4

2.1

2.2

2.32.3.12.3.2

2.4

2.4.1

2.52.5.12.5.22.5.3

INTRODUCTION

E-RETAILlNG AND CUSTOMER LOYALTV

THE EMERGENCE OF E-COMMERCEE-commerce technologiesInternet technology and service quality

INTERNET TECHNOLOGY USE IN E-RETAIL ACTIVITIES INDEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIESInternet technology use for retail activities in South Africa

E-RETAILlNG AND BUSINESS STRATEGYE-retail opportunitiesE-retail challenges to retailersE-retail challenges to e-customers

5

6

81015

1920

24272932

vi

2.6 INTERNET TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE BEHAVIOUROF E-CUSTOMERS 35

2.7 TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS FACING E-RETAIL BUSINESS 37

2.8 E-RETAIL BENEFITS TO E-CUSTOMERS 40

2.9 SUMMARY 44

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 APPROACH TO THE RESEARCH 45

3.2 THE USE OF QUESTIONNAIRE 46

3.3 INTERVIEW DESIGN 46

3.4 DATA COLLECTION AND SAMPLE SIZE 48

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 INTRODUCTION 50

4.2 E-COMMERCE MANAGER'S INTERVIEW RESULTS 504.2.1 The demographics of the e-retail companies 53

4.3 E-RETAIL IMPACT 54

4.4 E-CUSTOMER SURVEY RESULTS 614.4.1 The demographics of e-customers 624.4.2 E-customers reasons for using the Internet 64

4.5 CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH 65

CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

5.1 INTRODUCTION 70

5.2 PRODUCT AND SERVICE QUALITY 70

5.3 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY 70

5.4 IMPROVED MARKET SHARE AND PROFITABILITY 72

REFERENCES 74

vii

TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLES

CHAPTER 22.1 Types of e-commerce technologies

2.2 Total retail market in South Africa

2.3 Estimated quarterly U.S. retail sales

CHAPTER 44.1 Products and services offered bye-retailers

4.2 Benefits of e-retailing

4.3 Demographics, category and response rate

FIGURES

CHAPTER 22.1 My Virtual Model

2.2 Hallmark reminder service

2.3 Barriers to purchasing online in 2000

CHAPTER 33.1 Research model

CHAPTER 44.1 What has led to the move into e-retailing

4.2 E-retailers understanding of customer needs

4.3 E-customer's reason(s) for using the Internet

APPENDICES

A. Introductory letter to e-retailers interviewed

B. Questionnaire - e-customers

C. Questionnaire analysis - e-customers

D. Online interview questions - e-retailers

E. Analysis of the online interview questions - e-retailers

F. Transcribed interviews - e-retailers

G. Directory of retail websites in South Africa

10

21

22

56

61

62

14

26

34

45

55

60

64

Chapter 1: Introduction

CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION

Page 1

The Internet provides new ways for customers to shop for their needs.

Intemet technology is available almost everywhere on the planet and using

the Internet for information is already the number one reason customers' state

for being online. Internet technology allows products and services to be

offered on a scale never possible before: a potential global market with a

variety of choices that is simply not possible with limited physical floor space

(Cunningham, 2000:35).

E-retailers can now serve their customers 24/7 with variety of products and

services at reduced price (Walsh & Godfrey, 2000). Though there a potential

business benefits arising from the usage of Internet, successful e-retailing still

face numerous challenges such as:

• improved customer service

• increased competition and

• increased cost of website and content management

While these remain an important managerial challenge, there is also a

changing wave of customers growing expectation for continuous improved

products and service offering. Retail businesses should therefore take

advantage of Internet opportunities and build enduring customer-retailer

relationship for a sustained customer loyalty. More personalised service that

satisfies customers need can be developed and deployed into e-retail

environment (Windham & Orton, 2000:145).

This research examines e-retailing and identifies convenient shopping

experience as a strategy that can be used to improve service offering to

attract and retain customers. Thus, it is useful for retailers to understand the

differences between e-retailing and traditional retailing to enable them identify

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 2

the new Intemet-based opportunities that might better satisfy the unique

needs and desires of their customers.

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Retailers understand the importance of continuous and consistent delivery of

good service quality as fundamental to customer loyalty. It is now possible to

meet various business objectives by satisfying customers' taste every time

with Intemet technology. An examination of retail environments that support

business success reveals the importance of the Intemet. There is a potential

for retailers to improve customers shopping experience by implementing

appropriate e-retail strategies.

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH

This research will help e-retailers to understand retailing and various ways to

create a loyal customer environment that enhances online customers'

patronage.

1.3 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

One of the challenges for retailers is to understand the new technologies and

to ascertain how to use them to ensure customer loyalty. For e-retailers to

survive in this new environment, the Internet, a constant improved e-retail

approach will be required to improve quality of customer service. Improved

customer service creates a foundation for customers' loyalty that leads to

repeat patronage. This study identifies and examines factors affecting

customer loyalty in e-retail environment.

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Page 3

This research explored business opportunities of Internet technology and how

this has impacted on retailing. With growing competition and increased level

of customer demand for quality products and services, the Internet and

Internet related activities has become an important field of study for both

researchers and practitioners. A study of e-commerce literature is conducted

and used to develop framework that describes customer loyalty as an

important element of successful e-retailing. The following research questions

are put forward for the research:

• Does e-retailing improve customers' shopping experience?

• Can e-retailers easily overcome the challenges of e-retailing?

• What are the effects of business strategies on e-retailing?

1.5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

The objectives of this research are:

• To examine the use of Internet technology in ensuring convenient e

retail shopping experience.

• To identify the strategic challenges of e-retailing.

• To analyse these challenges for improved e-retail service delivery.

1.6 DELINEATION OF STUDY

The study of the use of Internet technology in e-retailing has attracted much

attention from academic and practitioners from various backgrounds,

however, little attention has been given to its impact on the loyalty of e

consumers. This research addresses retail activities aided by Internet

technology (e-retailing) to understand how the changes in convenient

Chapter 1: Introduction Page 4

shopping experience has resulted in improved customer loyalty level. Other

aspect of e-commerce such as business and human resource strategy is

therefore not covered.

1.7 OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS

In Chapter 2, discusses e-retailing and customer loyalty based on the

literature. The emergence of e-commerce is also discussed.

Chapter 2 also looks at e-commerce technologies as well as Internet

technology and service quality. Internet technology use for e-retail activities

in developed and in developing countries is discussed. Chapter 2 also

discusses e-retail business strategy, Internet technology and its impact on e

customer behaviour. Technological barriers facing e-retail business and e

retail benefits to e-customers are discussed.

Chapter 3 explains the research design and methodology used as well as the

description of the principle research design. .

Chapter 4 presents the analysis and interpretation of data collected. The

results of the interview conducted with role players in e-retail business as well

as the questionnaire results of e-consumers are illustrated with graphs and

tables. Areas for further research were also stated.

Chapter 5 is based

chapter discusses

development.

on interpretations made and conclusions. Lastly, this

recommendations in terms of e-retail business

Chapter 2: Literature review

2.1 INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2LITERATURE REVIEW

Page 5

Payne (2003) chooses to define electronic commerce as:

'[the] exchange of information, conduct of buying and selling, logistics,or other organisational management activities across electronicnetworks within an organisation, between businesses (B2B), betweenbusinesses and consumers (B2C), or between the public and privatesectors (B2G), whether paid or unpaid" (Payne, 2003).

Payne (2003) further explains that a narrower definition of electronic

commerce might be limited to electronic exchange of business transactions,

e.g., orders and invoices (with or without the use of a website). Taking the

above statement into consideration, businesses in developing countries may

be able to reap significant benefits from e-commerce. Furthermore, the legal,

regulatory or infrastructural constraints could make it difficult or impossible for

them to actually transact business electronically. For example, a business in

a developing country might be able to use Internet searches to figure out

market prices for one of its products so that it can compete better and win

new customers.

The above stated activities falls under the broader definition of electronic

commerce and could be termed "e-business". This includes transacting

business or exchanging business-related information between B2C

business and consumers (their customers). B2B - business to business can

be referred to as a situation where one business buys from another business.

B2G - businesses to government is where businesses conduct transactions

electronically with government regarding various business licensing or

reporting requirements or where businesses sell products or services to

governments (Rayport & Jaworski, 2001).

Chapter 2: Literature review Page 6

Both local and international e-retail businesses may find beneficial ways to

use e-commerce to enhance positive relationships with their customers and

suppliers to ensure customer loyalty (Whysall, 2000).

2.2 E-RETAILlNG AND CUSTOMER LOYALTV

In e-retailing, because a company website represents the brand and stands

as a substitute for the traditional shop, customer loyalty depends, even in the

first instance, on the website's performance. Judgement about performance

will be based on its usefulness and more specifically on its impact on service

quality, during and after purchase. The interrelationships among loyalty,

trust, and relationship have been well established in marketing and service

management literature (Berry, 1995; Berry and Parasuraman, 1991; Foster

and Cadogan, 2000; Graham, 1999; Kandampully, 1997).

Customer loyalty is essential for all businesses, especially for e-commerce

ventures that seek to strengthen their brand image (Barton, 1999). Building

customer loyalty is vital to the success of the e-retailer because, without loyal

customers, even the most effective business model will fail, and the business

will eventually try to satisfy the whims of only price-sensitive customers

(Reichheld & Schefter, 2000). Reichheld and Schefter further explain that

attracting and retaining a larger number of customers requires e-retailers to

remain devotedly customer centric, as e-customers continue to demand more

from their Internet experiences and have many more opportunities to migrate

to other sources of supply, based upon easily available price comparison

information.

A few years ago Gosh (1998) predicted that competitive pressures of new

electronic markets in improving customer loyalty, and meeting up with

customers' demand would force businesses to join the market, irrespective of

their willingness to do so. The question is no longer whether to deploy the


Internet, but how to deploy it profitably. However, the disastrous experiences

of new Internet-based businesses in the "dot-bomb" period have proven that

the pressures to join in are no guarantee of success (Porter, 2001).

In recent years, an increasing number of e-retail businesses have specialised

in selling service products such as airline seats and hotel room nights. As

service intermediaries, these businesses have successfully gained the

interest and patronage of customers because they are able to offer

substantial benefits to the customers through e-retailing, such as product

choices, convenience, and value for money (Foster & Cadogan, 2000).

To maintain this relationship, the e-retailer continues to find ways to build the

customer's commitment and loyalty. For example, when Amazon planned to

introduce their music store they asked customers to help create it. They

asked customers to provide reviews on a number of COs and videos. When

Amazon.com finally opened the doors of its music store, they already had a

potentially loyal customer base. This was a store created by customers for

them; it was natural that they would start shopping there. Customers, who

recognise that an offering is targeted at them, or when they have a hand in its

creation, are more likely to return (Walsh & Godfrey, 2000). The explosive

growth of usage of the Internet provides a great number of potential

customers to e-retailers.

When an e-retail business deploys its website as a source of information and

service interaction for its customers, research indicates that it will discover

that customers will tell them exactly what they want and need with great

precision. Such businesses will probably learn, to their dismay, that in order

to satisfy their customers need they will have to do major work on their

existing systems. In the long run, customers will prefer to do business with

companies that put the customer's needs first (Seybold & Marshak, 1998).


These authors believe that there is a need to understand more clearly how e

commerce emerged, and what the business consequences have been.

2.3 THE EMERGENCE OF E-COMMERCE

Seybold and Marshak (1998) are not the only authors who have looked at

multiple retailing channels from a research standpoint. Some years earlier,

Rayport and Sviokla (1994) had noted that business transactions were

already occurring in both traditional and web-based channels. These authors

were writing at a time when the Intemet was barely known and were already

thinking about the consequences. In technology-based business channels

transactions occur "on screen" in an electronic environment, rather than as

physical interactions "over the counter". Nothing special today, but quite

remarkable at the time.

E-commerce impacts directly on marketing, as the record of published work

shows - some of the earliest experience with e-commerce revealed that not

everyone will be interested. Berry (1995) reported that in moving to e

commerce, businesses must first identify the potential customers interested in

working with that technology. Although technically a company website in

principle has the capacity to serve an unlimited number of users, not

everyone will be attracted. Strategically, it is important to identify the specific

market segment that the website will attract and can be directed to serve its

customers. In this pattem of evolving experience, it becomes clear that the

emergence of e-commerce dramatically raises the significance of competition

between businesses, and forces businesses to adapt continuously to new

market situations (Mellahi & Johnson, 2000).

'.S:=>

~ The growth of e-commerce has attracted considerable recent attention within~

.:J all business spheres. Increasingly, traditional retail businesses have also


begun to utilise the opportunities offered by trading activities through the

Internet (La & Kandarnpully, 2002).

As different regions of the world take e-retailing in different ways and at

different rates, it is interesting to contemplate how quickly the United States

(US) population has adopted the Internet and it is easy to understand why.

Historically, the US has been a country in which new technologies are

assimilated fairly rapidly, given the relative lack of economic constraints and

the manufacturing realities of the time (Burt & Sparks, 2003). Windham and

Orton (2000) further explains that the US is the source of most Intemet

technologies and it is not surprising that it should be in the lead in their

application. The Internet reached as many Americans in the first six years as

telephones did in four decades. Everyday, Intemet access is becoming

available to a growing percentage of the US population (Windham & Orton,

2000:3). These authors argue that of all the wealthier economies in the USA,

Asia and Europe, more than half the combined population has Internet

access and it is inevitable that more consumers will choose to make

purchases through the Internet as access becomes more widespread.

The increasing importance of &Commerce was apparent in a large study

conducted by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Provost,

2000). It was found that electronic commerce was taking off both in terms of

the number of users shopping as well as the total amount people were

spending via Internet based transactions. Provost (2000) also found that

through the connectivity provided by the Internet, the range of goods and

services offered can be extended. It is feasible for retailers to sell millions of

products via their websites as the technology brings buyers and sellers

together regardless of their geographical location. Clearly, electronic

commerce brings new forms of market to e-customers and e-retailers, partly

out of new ways to do business, but originally because of the technologies

that are now in use.


2.3.1 E-commerce technologies

C§""As e-commerce technologies moves fast, it is important for businesses to

take decisions that are both fast and right and choose a sustainable approach

that fits into their business activities (Fisher, 2000). No single technology

covers all possible e-commerce applications. Given the variations in technical

and telecommunications infrastructure in developing countries this research

includes the use of the Internet and websites powered by computers, but also

the use of mobile phones (sometimes used in what is referred to as "m

commerce"), voice-over-IP, and even computer applications with no

telecommunications component. All of these can and are being used in

innovative ways by businesses to improve service offering, attract and retain

customer (South Africa Department of Trade & Industry, 2002).

Similarly, any technology qualifies as long as it supports the core business

activities at different levels. Not only can their technologies speed up certain

processes that hinge on the processing or dissemination of information, they

also permit certain activities to be restructured and re-engineered, or carried

out at reduced cost, or with improved accuracy and reliability. Hence this will

be a foundation for building customer loyalty and may lead to repeat

patronage. ~././~

The table 2.1 shows a list of some technologies used in e-commerce (South

African Department of Trade & Industry, 2002).

-rypes.ofe-corrirrierce • •••••/ . . ....

UbIlIUUV"..

technologies .<. « < .

Website A collection of related documents published on theInternet.

Intranet An internal computer network that operates usingthe same protocols as the Internet. Its mainbenefit is seen as being a means of sharinginformation between company employees.


~'\

I,

Extranet An extension of a company's Intranet that allowsexternal users to access some parts of theIntranet.

Electronic Data Electronic exchange of forms, such as invoicesInterchange and orders, between geographically dispersed(EDI) locations

Internal e-mail The electronic transmission of letters or messagesfrom one computer to another or from oneelectronic device to another, internally within acompany.

External e-mail The electronic transmission of letters or messagesfrom one computer to another or from oneelectronic device to another, external to thecompany

Mobile technologies Include mobile portals and wireless LANs, such asmobile ohones, PDAs

Electronic point-of-sale Systems supported by sophisticated computer-(EPOS) based distribution systems, together with the

mass market use of electronic forms of paymente.g. credit and debit cards.

Efficient Consumer The enabling of easier and faster sharing of dataResponse (ECR) to enable trading partners to exploit common

oDoortunities.Customer relationship Making more effective use of data collected e.g.management (CRM) through loyalty cards, for targeted marketing.

Computer Based Use of multimedia touch-screen technology toTraining (CBT) improved education and training.

Radio frequency It is a technology similar in theory to bar codeidentification (RFID) identification. It refers to the technology that uses

devices attached to objects that transmit data toan RFID receiver. With RFID, the electromagneticor electrostatic coupling in the RF portion of theelectromagnetic spectrum is used to transmitsignals.

Virtual Reality (VR) An interface which combines diverse technicalsystems with the goal of enabling users to interactin real time within Virtual Environments (VEs).


Virtual Environments Three-dimensional (3D) computer-based(VEs) environments representing applications for

visualisation, animation, generation ormodification of real or abstract objects! situations.

File Transfer Protocol It is a common method of transferring bulk data(FTP) files via the Internet from one computer to another

Hypertext Markup The document format language used on the WorldLanguage (HTML) Wide Web. Web browsers read HTML and display

the page. HTML defines the structure and layoutof a Web document by using a variety of tags andattributes.

Extensible Markup It is a "metalanguage" that can be used to createLanguage (XML) markup languages for specific applications. For

example, it can describe items that may beaccessed when a Web page loads. XML allowsusers to create a database of information withouthaving an actual database. While it is commonlyused in Web applications, many other programscan use XML documents as well.

Table 2.1: Types of e-commerce technologies

E-commerce technologies are increasingly making e-retailing and delivery a

reality, possibility by combining high-bandwidth wide area networks running

on TCPIIP (Transmission Control Protocolllnternet Protocol), high bandwidth

spread-spectrum radio frequency networks in shops, and lightweight

ergonomically-designed handheld data management devices, which are able

to run web-based applications at the shelf. These technologies can improve

e-retailers', product and service quality, increased customer satisfaction and

profitability. These could be achieved and maintained through streamlining

processes internally and with suppliers. The use of electronic ordering and

processing in particular can significantly reduce costs by enabling continuous

stock tracking, eliminating processing errors, reducing headcount and

reducing lead-times and stock holding costs (South African Department of

Trade & Industry, 2002).


On the customer side of the business, the technologies in the table 2.1 can

be used as tools to better satisfy the unique needs of their customers. These

e-commerce technologies potentially offers new channels for customers to

make purchases (websites), and can improve the in-store experience by

making it more interactive e.g. through touch-screen intranet access, to

display more information about products or to allow customers to browse the

retailers' entire product range (Fisher, 2000).

EOI is used in many sectors but particularly by both small and large retailers

who have the finance available to invest in systems. EOI is mainly used for

ordering and viewing product catalogues/specifications (Browne, Alien,

Anderson, & Jackson, 2001).

According to Birch, Gerbert and Schneider (2000) speed and flexibility are the

key elements for success in e-shopping and these technologies have brought

Birch et aI's view into perspective. VR (Virtual reality) describes the

combination of systems comprising computer processing (PC based or

higher), a building platform for creating 30 environments, and peripherals

such as visual display and interaction devices, that are used to create and

maintain virtual environments. In the context of VR, the attributes of Virtual

environments (VEs) are listed as follows:

• Computer-generated representations of real or imaginary

environments; experienced as three-dimensional via a number of

senses - visual, aural and/or tactile.

• Objects within these environments are independent of the user and

can display real world behaviour.

• The user or users have autonomous control - the freedom to navigate

and interact with objects, using a number of different viewpoints.

• Interaction occurs in real-time; and the users experience feelings of

presence and/or immersion.


Chittaro and Scagnetto (2001) note that the most relevant usability issue of

VE is the navigational support provided by its user interface. They believe

that inadequate support to user navigation will likely result in users not being

satisfied while exploring the visited VE. This problem becomes even more

critical with the growing number of VE's on the web, such as the apparel e

retailers.

Achieving the correct garment fit has long been a challenge to both traditional

catalog and apparel e-retailers. Poor fitting clothes result in dissatisfied

customers who buy fewer items, shop less, and return their purchases. The

founders of MyVirtualModel Inc. have used VR technology in envisioning a

world where consumers can complete a quick size and fit questionnaire, then

access that data to "see" and "try on" clothes on the Internet before making a

purchase decision. Early results such as this suggest that MyVirtual Model

Inc. may re-fashion the fashion industry (Birch et aI, 2000).

_ Welcom.~ to My Vlrtu",1 Model'"

W,!!l My Vl'4'al M;dd, :tQ'" un.., L;nts' E"1>d o;!Olhir_j tn ~ fflQlhlt.";"!'s .c~;t>~~iJ ;. I'IUrvt crt~~ofYfi:n1Jlf e"",n«1' ~~s 10b~".rel>U.!M. J~~ UJ' 4: GtlIt.f~ J~~- 1-i~1lt......,

$et!II'l!i fa.all!'l ~ -~1l9 tcllft'l

~.. -=----c-:-:--:-:-:------..l TI)' mods-J for women)

(Try model for Men

---

-- - _Of _,~, ........

Figure 2.1: MyVirtual Model


Fisher (2000) believes that the technology with the highest levels of

penetration is external e-mail. This is partly because it is cheap to implement

but also because e-mail has reached a level of critical mass whereby even

companies who were reluctant to adopt the technology now feel compelled to

use e-mail as a method of communication both with customers and suppliers.

However, further developments include radio frequency technology, enabling

further streamlining of inventory management and distribution, wireless EPGS

(Electronic point-of-sale) and voice recognition technologies.

However, e-commerce technologies vary widely at the consumer end. They

are often beyond the control of the e-retailer and are hard to predict or even

to identify. Specifically, each person on the Internet is using different

hardware and software configurations and e-retailers are not privy to the

specifics of those configurations. Management within this technological

environment is significantly more difficult and requires an understanding of

the impediments and the conditions that create them. It appears that the

evolution of Internet technology created many opportunities for retailers

especially in the area of service quality, unfortunately, opportunities are often

offset by costs, streamlining of business strategy , and challenges

engendered by these same technologies (Rose, Khoo & Straub, 1999).

2.3.2 Internet technology and service quality

There has never been a better time to start a business, especially an e

commerce business. Five years ago, Internet shopping was something

consumers did from a home or office PC. The Internet has dramatically

reduced the cost of setting up, and especially of reaching customers.

Marketing costs, provided an e-customer has something interesting to sell,

could amount to paying a few cents for a search-engine keyword. For a

commission, sites such as eBay and Amazon will also list a customer's

wares. PayPal will look after credit-card payments, saving the customer the

bother of establishing a business account. Also companies such as UPS will


deliver anywhere, and provide online tracking facilities for checking how far a

parcel has gone (The Economist, 2004). Indeed, dot-com upstarts such as

Netgrocer, Peapod and Webvan, all of which delivered goods ordered on the

Intemet to e-eustomers' doors aimed to put a serious hurt on their traditional

shop counterparts, not to work with them (Buderi, 2005).

All over the world, individuals have begun businesses this way. They might

be selling avatars (virtual personas for onJine gaming) in South Korea, tribal

carvings in South Africa, model steam-engine parts in Germany, or classic

Corvettes in Califomia. Web publishing too can now more easily be

supported by advertising. Some e-commerce companies will find and place

ads on their website for individuals or companies, and split the revenue.

Google's AdSense service, for instance, uses the search engine's technology

automatically to match the content of a website with appropriate text-based

ads. In other moves, Google has been steadily expanding its operations

beyond its core Intemet search sites, to include free e-mail, web logs and

online comparison shopping. The Economist believes that the more popular

a site becomes, the higher the income (The Economist, 2004).

Now, a different approach to supermarket e-commerce is emerging. E

retailers start to gather information from the moment the customer accesses

the site until the moment the customer exists, regardless of whether the

customer makes a purchase or not. The e-retailer now begins to leam about

each customer. This information forms a basis for initiating a dialogue with

the customer in the future and starts to build a customer relationship. They

also use this data to target advertising and promotions, treating

demographically identical neighbours differently. Customers will no longer be

treated as segments but as unique individuals. The objective of the e

retailers is to convert browsers into loyal customers. This is evident in

Peapod.com, an e-retail supermarket and Tesco (Walsh & Godfrey, 2000).


Peapod.com delivers a wide range of groceries, household products and

toiletries directly to customer's address of choice. They keep a list of the

customer's previous purchases including brand, pack size and quantity

purchased. The customer need make only minor changes from week to

week, saving time and effort. Tesco services Intemet orders in its shops.

This arrangement is extremely profitable, because it builds on spare capacity

within the shop network, and shop staff fills orders during quiet periods.

Whether customers purchase from the Internet or traditional shop, the data

about what they buy is linked to Tesco's loyalty card, so the company knows

who their customers are irrespective of the channel the customer used. If the

customer log onto the company website through a home computer or PDA, it

lists their favourite or recently purchased items whether they bought in a store

or online (Buderi, 2005).

In this manner, Tesco has amassed a mountain of data about its customers,

which it uses in various ways. The regular mail statements to all loyalty card

customers include quasi personalized coupons tailored to their buying habits.

Some coupons might provide discounts on products a customer has recently

purchased. In addition, Tesco puts out five editions of a quarterly hard-copy

magazine, each of them tailored to a broad audience segment: students,

young adults without dependents, young families with children, people age 40

to 60 and those over 60. Finally, the retailer offers a number of further

segmentations, or clubs - World of Wine, Baby and Toddler, that customers

choose to join, and which enable even more precise delivery of promotional

offers (Buderi, 2005).

Walsh and Godfrey (2000) illustrate further that e-commerce also offers e

retailers the opportunity to operate their business round the clock and round

the globe. The shop is always open and in most cases, a virtual shop

assistant, the help desk or customer service personnel are ready help. If a

customer wants to place an order with a US based Amazon.com at 9 o'clock

Chapter 2: LITerature review Page 18

South African time on Sunday morning, this customer can. Despite the time

difference, Amazon.com answers the customer's questions, offers advise,

gives recommendations, processes and confirms the order, and even advices

of the expected time of delivery. In the meantime, Amazon.com locates the

book in the physical world and notifies the customer of any problems that may

occur in obtaining or shipping it. As the customer receives the confirmation of

shipment, tracking of the order can be done by accessing Amazon.com's

tracking system on their website. The ability of the e-retailers to carry out a

constant dialogue with their customers is an integral part of the

personalisation process. How opportunities for dialogue between e-retailer

and customer are conducted, is what differentiates sites.

Personalisation is not just limited to the service that is offered. E-retailers are

increasingly customising products and offering them on a mass-market basis

at an acceptable price to the customer. Customised products according to

Walsh and Godfrey (2000) are probably the ultimate in personalised service

and can command a price premium. Dell.com pioneered this concept. They

custom-built each computer so that rarely do two computers leave the factory

with exactly the same configuration. Children can custom design their own

Barbie® doll through Matlel.com's My Desgin®, choosing a name, hair, eyes,

fashion accessories and even her personality. Acumin's SmartSelecpM

determines what vitamins a customer needs and how much of each and then

custom formulates a vitamin pill. Levi's offers over 750 options for custom

made jeans through their levLcom or original spin website. Customers can

create a CD with their own selection of tracks with CDNow.com.

Landsend.com uses a 3D Internet model of the customer to personally

recommend a range of suitable swimwear and 'mix and match' beachwear

options, based on a customer's size and profile. Customer's can even

custom-design eyewear on the Internet using Paris Miki's Japanese site.

Using a self scanned image, customer's view eyewear best suited to their

lifestyle and facial features (Burt & Sparks, 2003).


According to Buderi (2005), their will be a massive growth in the electronic

economy in the next decade. This will be as a result of:

• Increased and extended usage of Internet shopping frorn existing e

customers.

• Continual development and evolution of Internet shopping as more

companies decide to have a web presence.

• A demographic drive caused by the maturation of an Intemet-sawy

generation.

• Greater accessibility to electronic shopping processes as they become

more widely available in some markets.

• The potential demise of physical stores and traditional retail outlets.

This is a very real threat.

2.4 INTERNET TECHNOLOGY USE IN E-RETAIL ACTIVITIES INDEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

It is widely presumed that e-commerce is thriving around the globe. But

where developing countries are concerned, as long as the business-to

business (B2B) segment of the market does not take off, e-commerce

volumes there will remain "negligible", warns the e-commerce and

development report 2002, released by UNCTAD. The report says that the

route to a prosperous B2B sector, and its attendant benefits for the economy

at large as benefits drive through to the consumer (B2C), lies in joining

regional and global supply chains. The prospects for that happening are

good, especially given that the rapid growth in both e-commerce and Internet

use is expected to continue. This applies particularly to the developing world,

where penetration rates are lower. The UNCTAD report further states that

Internet use soared 30% in 2001, with one third of all new users in the

developing world. E-commerce is also increasing in these countries, although

more slowly, and that is particularly true of B2B, which comprises 95% of all


e-commerce2 (Bytheway, 1995). For the retailer all the B2B activity upstream

in the supply chain makes for more reliable supply and lower administration

costs. The question arises as to whether the final stage retailing to the

consumer will follow through and "go digital" through increased B2C activity.

The UNCTAD report concludes that the main impediment to the takeoff of e

commerce in the third world is inadequate information and communications

technology (ICT) infrastructure, as well as shortcomings in physical

infrastructure, logistics and trade facilitation.

2.4.1 Internet technology use for retail activities in South Africa

The mixed results in Asia, the US and Europe are generally far in advance of

what has been achieved in Africa. The UNCTAD report explains that

although Internet connectivity is slowly improving in Africa, e-commerce there

remained limited at the time of the study. Local Internet connection is now

available in all African capitals, and legal monopolies in Internet service

provision have almost disappeared, resulting in a 30% rise in data traffic from

the continent in 2001 alone. But the e-commerce infrastructure gap between

developed and developing countries is largest in Africa, where only one in

118 people use the Internet - or only one in 440, when the five countries with

the most users are excluded.

According to a study of South Africa's Internet industry by independent

technology research organisation World Wide Worx, the rollout of Internet

access services by South Africa's telecommunications operator (Telcom) is

2 It is actually inevitable that the greater majority of e-<:ommerce will be 828; unpublishedresearch from the Cranfield School of Management (UK) found that for every movement ofgoods in a supply chain there are typically eleven movements of information; if goods moveseven times (again, this was found to be typical) then there will be 77 movements ofinformation, only a few of which have anything at all to do with the retailer and the customer.


one of three factors that influenced the kick-start growth in Intemet access in

the country.

However, e-eommerce has been reported to be concentrated in South Africa

and Egypt, while B2B outside South Africa remains negligible. B2B

opportunities do, however, exist for Africa in the traditional and Intemet based

services sector. And in the meantime, exporters of handicrafts and products

and services targeting Africans outside their home countries are doing a

thriving business in B2C (UNCTAD report, 2002).

It is evident in the South African Department of Trade and Industry report

(2002) that e-retailers in South Africa have always had a bad press, and both

the good and the bad have been lumped together as chronic underperformers

from the start. Where American e-retailers experienced a 'honeymoon' of

media hype for several years before the crash that began in April 2000 South

African e-retailers have usually been assumed to be on a hiding to nothing.

As table 2.3 shows the total retail market in South Africa was worth R212

billion in 2002 and R234-billion in 2003. Given an e-retail market of R252

million for 2002 and R341-million for 2003, e-retail accounted for little more

than 0,1% of total retail sales in 2002 (0,12%) and only slightly more in 2003

(0,14%).

5ol.lthMrica TotaJ..-et8i1···· .. E~retail ...... ...... % ofTotal . .

•

Year ROOO OOOs ROOO ODDs

2001 188 263 162 0.08%

2002 212231 252 0.12%

2003 234923 341 0.14%

Source: Goldstuck, 2004

Table 2.2: Total retail market in South Africa


By contrast, as table 2.4 shows, the total e-retail market in the United States

was worth $54.9 billion in 2003, out of a total retail market worth $3.421

trillion. E-retail thus accounted for 1.6% of total sale. In 2002, e-retail had

reached $43.4 billion, accounting for 1.3% of total sales.

IYEiar>iii Total Retail Online Retail % of TotalIL> .......

2000 3,071,692 28,349 0.9%2001. 3,153,315 34,595 1.1%2002. 3,245,407 43,466 1.3%2003 3,421,857 54,902 1.6%

Source: GOldstuck, 2004

Table 2.3: Estimated quarterly U.S. retail sales ($billions)

Contrasting these proportions, it is clear that e-retailing remains at a very

early stage of its market penetration, even as its implementation matures in

South Africa. While e-retailing in the US makes up a similarly low proportion

of total retail sales, it is growing fairly strongly, and will probably have passed

the 2% mark in 2005. While this remains low in percentage terms, it is a vast

market in dollar terms. The US market will be looking at more than $70 billion

in e-retail sales towards the end of 2005, while South Africa will be hoping to

touch the half a billion rand mark only the following year (Goldstuck report,

2004)

The Goldstuck report (2004) further illustrates that despite the slow-down in

growth of e-retail businesses in South Africa, the number of retail websites

has exploded from 215 at the end of 2001 to at least 719 at the end of 2003.

However, the market is dominated by the top eight e-retailers (M-Web

ShopZone, Pick 'n' Pay Home Shopping, Kalahari.net, Woolworths, Netflorist,

Digital Mall, CyberCellar and Streetcar.com) who between them account for

about 80% of all e-retail sales in South Africa (Goldstuck report, 2004). The

Goldstuck report also found that online sales by retailers - which exclude

property, cars and travel operators increased by 35% in 2003, but was


expected to grow by only 25% in 2004. A total of R341-million in e-retail

sales was achieved in 2003 - a mere 0.14% of the total retail market in South

Africa.

The South African Department of Trade and Industry report (2000) states that

one of the most frequently asked questions in e-retail strategy is, "What sells

online?" The report found that products with a high content element, and

those that have relatively standard sizes, are the most obvious Internet selling

lines. These include: books, music CDs, DVDs and videos and the first of

these features prominently among the dominant e-retail categories in South

Africa. According to the South African Department of Trade and Industry

report (2000), the leading categories, or what may be called the Big Three of

e-retail, were: food, beverages, groceries, apparel, books, stationery. This is

in contrast to the USA, where apparel is at the top of the table. The reason

for this is historic. The USA has a century-old tradition of purchasing clothing

via mail order, and it is mail order categories that translate best into Internet

sales. Books, music and videos have long been a staple of mail order in

South Africa, and these translated strongly into Internet sales.

As a result, many prospective e-retailers have been given undue reason for

optimism in the spending habits of South African e-customers. Often,

however, it is simply a case of misunderstanding statistics. When, for

instance, one website announced several years ago that it was halting

Internet sales, a message on its website reflected bitterly on the fact that the

company had been led to believe there were 1,B-million Internet users in

South Africa. The reality, they had discovered, was that only 70 000 of those

were actively purchasing from the Internet (South African Department of

Trade and Industry report, 2000). There is a need for retailers moving to e

retailing to understand its impact on business strategy.


2.5 E-RETAIlING AND BUSINESS STRATEGY

Page 24

Reichheld and Schefter (2000) suggest that a one-size-fits-all e-retail strategy

will not work for the increasingly diverse Internet shopping community. Trying

to be all things to all customers will be increasingly challenging as greater

proportions of the mass market come online. Not focusing may result in

finding no volume market at all. E-retail businesses must identify their target

customers and offer value propositions that will appeal to customers' unique

needs. These businesses may choose to address multiple segments, but

realise that the same offer will not appeal to all shoppers.

Walsh and Godfrey (2000) also suggest that analogies can be drawn from the

approach that e-retailers take in building customer loyalty and satisfying

customer need. An e-retailer builds the relationship over time by

demonstrating an interest in the customer, listening and understanding the

custorner. There is an interaction with the customer one-on-one. In turn the

customer grows to trust the e-retailer. Once the relationship is established

the customer needs to have a strong reason not to continue with it. There is

a familiarity, a commitment, and a sense of belonging. An emotional element

now exists between customer and e-retailer and it goes beyond any rational

reason for preference based on physical or functional product attributes.

Jackson and Hams (2002) note that the scope of Internet applications can

vary hugely between organisational strategic initiatives, highlighting

differences between e-commerce and e-business strategies. They

characterise e-eommerce strategies as "catalogues put on the Internet to

allow electronic ordering". Such arrangements typically involve dedicated e

retailers, acting independently of other distribution channels, which are often

the exclusive electronic contact point for customers. Siegel (2000) also states

that such e-retail websites tend to be mere virtual versions of their concrete

counterparts. A genuine business strategy, on the other hand, seeks to

"foster conversations" with customers throughout the organisation {actually or

Chapter 2: Uterature review Page 25

figuratively), with all employees having a direct electronic link. Such customer

led approaches, according to Siegel (2000), involve listening to customers in

a strategic way, deepening relationships and loyalty. E-retailers are reminded

that the benefits of e-commerce are not just faster ordering from bigger

catalogues, but better service and a closer relationship with a more 'faithful'

customer.

Newe" (2000) highlighted that companies must leverage customer

information for the effective management of customer relationships on the

Internet. Seybold and Marshak (1998) made similar points, again focusing on

the need for customer-focused strategies that engage customers and build

communities of loyal customers. Such strategies suggest something much

more radical than the basic e-commercelbrochure-ware approach adopted by

many businesses at the moment. It calls for a re-engineering of processes

and structures focused around key customer groups, rather than product or

service divisions. It also implies cross-functional, team working. As Siegel

(2000: 107) puts it:

"[a] customer-led company has a broad interface across which allemployees can get to know their customers. Employees invitecustomers in to collaborate on new products, support systems, andmethodologies. Facilitating those interactions will take newcommunication skills, new tools, and the ability to move people in andout ofproduct teams easily".

In addition, most e-retail businesses today are not prepared to create truly

unique and special offers for individual customers based on customer profile

information (Siegel, 2000). Infact, most companies are still only capable of

offering relatively simple solutions based on customer preference data.

Siegel (2000) further explain that creating uniquely customised product offers

to target customers, requires better data not just about the customer's

preferences, but about the products as well.


For example, Hallmark Cards, Inc., a $3.6 billion company with a 44% market

share in the United States, is a classic consumer products company selling

millions of greeting cards to millions of anonymous customers through retail

outlets. Like most companies that sell through retail outlets, Hallmarks kept

close tabs on what cards sold in different demographic areas and

continuously refined its product offerings to meet those needs as well as to

keep up with the times. But when the company asked customers what they

wanted, it discovered that what its customers could really use was a reminder

service. This service reminds them to go buy a card and a gift for someone's

birthday or anniversary (Seybold & Marshak, 1998). Refer to figure 2.

~i't~...k., I ."" ,~. 'cO••" cc •• ,,, "'"

'i S,-,,,,;"', J "..."d""",-",

"',~W "t~<J< 1'.~m"'i1"'"~j~

~ ~'Y:i,~n~' 11.",.,...,;,<:J.&:l "h,lid"r ~e.,.;rde~}

S.KiaI IIII-storr- OffH1

fr..0.,;_. tolnl>llM1;

View Your R€'mindt:r listR2'~jl?\!; ¥C<w ~pli'{=-.l:sr M f?ffi"'~f5 tl&"i',

Add P-e~()nalRemit)(~l4t v; h"b H1U rRlr>i!rn~ th~ i:r.pQ~ il~"'rt'; .nO OQ;.;l.i~ in ¥OUf lif;;,l1

Add Holiday Reminder<i~~ '~'ilif!~ ~~ ,-,pe::tll;riG t'y,lfllja;-~? £tSed fnm t:!w ht.Il<J.Jt~ 1~1

Figure 2.2: Hallmark reminder service

Hallmark took that requirement to heart and today on Hallmarks website

(Hallmark.com), they have a reminder service where customers can enter the

important dates they want to remember and specify when they want to be

reminded. Whether the customer asked to be reminded a week before, three

days before or a day before, the customer will receive an e-mail as a

reminder for the occasion that was programmed. Hallmark now has a

database of customer profile information. This helped the company in

identifying who some of its end customers are, when they need to send

remembrances, and to whom they need to send them (Seybold & Marshak,


1998). Seybold and Marshak recommend Hallmark as one of the e-retail

companies that was able to begin to build a one-to-one relationship with its

customers in a cost effective manner using electronic commerce technologies

such as the Internet.

In addition, e-retailers identify who their valued customers are and treat them

accordingly. Amazon.com sends a special promotional offer to valued

customers who have not recently purchased. This does not happen for every

inactive customer, only those Amazon.com feels are worth keeping. Walsh

and Godfrey (2000) suggest that all e-retailers must provide those

components that create a good customer experience to establish Internet

brand loyalty and remain competitive. How well individual Internet brands

meet these customer expectations will determine who keeps users loyal, and

who will fall prey to more savvy competitors that lure customers away by

offering more of what they want online. Walsh and Godfrey (2000) believe

that the struggle to acquire and retain customers will define the e-marketplace

of the future.

These e-retailers have to figure out how to lure consumers and how to keep

them without relying on face-ta-face interactions. Many people according to

experts think of the Internet as impersonal. Yet these retail businesses have

utilised the opportunities presented to them by Internet technology to build

close bonds with their customers without ever meeting them or, in many

cases, talking with them.

2.5.1 E-retail opportunitieshjQ<K-

The introduction of electronic commerce has offered numerous opportunities

to businesses, including reduced costs, closer relationships with customers,

increased. profit and customer loyalty. At a very fundamental level,

businesses operating via the Internet usually enjoy much lower overheads

than their traditional retail counterparts (Liu & Amett, 2000). Through


websites, e-retail businesses are able to provide customers with various self

service and delivery options. These, of course, offer considerable benefits to

these businesses in improving product and service quality, increasing

productivity and in lowering costs. For example, company websites allow

businesses to decrease the number of phone calls, maintain global reach and

targeted marketing, shorten transaction times (better customer service),

reduce manpower, mass customisation, establish new forms of specialised

stores and niche marketing (Tarn, Razi, Wen & Perez, 2003).

According to Windham and Orton (2000) a number of measurable elements

that relate to achieving higher profitability via customer retention include:

• Base revenue: It is the revenue an e-retail business receives from a

given transaction, regardless of customer relationship or loyalty or

product discounts. The longer the business keeps a paying customer,

the more of this base revenue they receive.

• Growth: When the initial transaction creates value for a customer, the

customer purchases additional products from the e-retailer. The

revenue generated from that customer grows as the e-retailers' share

of that customer's buying dollarlrand grows.

• Referral: Referral revenue occurswhen a satisfied customer refers an

e-retail business to other potential customers. The longer the business

relationship with a customer lasts, the more new customers are

referred to such e-retail business.

• Price premium: Contrary to popular belief, loyal customers will pay

more for an e-retail business product than will a new customer who is

not necessarily convinced of the value of the offerings. If the customer

is satisfied with the value of a product, why would the customer incur

the trouble and risk of trying another product? Loyal customers are not

tempted to defect by competitors' discounts, and they do not require


discounts to continue to purchase from an e-retailer. The more

satisfied the customer is with the business relationship, the greater the

premium the customer will pay.

Once acquired, a loyal customer boosts the business profits by making more

purchases, paying higher prices, and being less expensive to work with. The

customer also refers potential customers or associates to preferred retailer,

eliminating the cost of acquiring those customers (Reichheld & Schefter,

2000).

2.5.2 E-retail challenges to retailers

One of the first challenges retailers face when attempting to embrace e

business and its technologies is how to move from being a traditional or

"bricks and mortar" businesses to being e-retail or "clicks and mortar'

business. Here, a more virtual form of business may result, mixing traditional

ways of working with electronic communications (Jackson & Hams, 2002).

Jackson and Hams (2002) further explain that one of the key problems for

existing retail businesses is to migrate from their "legacy infrastructure' to an

e-business infrastructure. While start-up companies can leapfrog these

problems, established ones face some difficult challenges. This was one of

the reasons why it was originally speculated that the Internet start-ups (also

known as "dot.coms·) would become the dominant business model in the

business to customer (B2C) Internet market place. In other words these

businesses have to be prepared to reorganise and restructure themselves

continuously. As such, understanding how to manage change effectively

becomes essential. As Stroud (1998: 225) notes:

"The benefits that the Internet technology is expected to deliver will not berealised unless a business adapts its organisational structure and methodsto meet the radical new ways of working that this new technology makespossible·...


Stroud (1998) further explains that effective e-retail business solutions

demand integrated front and back end systems. This means that when

customers interact via the Internet, placing orders and purchasing goods, the

stock control and financial systems also need to "speak the same language"

and carry out their part of the transaction processing. The problem is that

many such back end systems are unlikely to be based on open Internet

protocols and may even have been custom-built. Nonetheless, such systems

may be critical to a company's business, and include such details as bank

account data and stock rotation information.

Seybold and Marshak (1998) mentioned that back in the heyday of

reengineering, many companies focused on the wrong things, such as

reengineering their businesses to make them more cost-efficient. Instead,

they worked from the inside out, streamlining administrative processes,

manufacturing operations, procurement process, and so forth. These were all

valuable initiatives, but they left out the most important piece of the equation.

They did not start from the outside (the end customer) and work in. Many of

these initiatives saved companies a great deal of money and made them

more productive, but they have not necessarily improved revenue.

Agrawal, Andrews, Kabiraj and Singh (2002) however pointed out that e

retailing has not been so profitable for businesses for these reasons;

• Too many websites. One estimate puts the number at a mind-boggling

of over 250 million, of which at least a quarter is e-retailing in one form

or the other.

• Most e-retailers have not been successful in bUilding strong back-end

systems. Accenture's worldwide research has demonstrated that 1 in

4 attempted purchases over the Internet fails. The question arises,

Chapter 2: L~erature review Page 31

would a customer go back to a shop that does not attend to the

customer's need?

• Integration of e-retail websites with the associated supply chain

processes has been poor. Accenture research indicates that the most

common complaint of e-shoppers is: "items ordered are out of stock".

Every e-retail fulfilment operation, large or small, faces other challenges such

as controlling customer data, integrating on-and off-line orders, delivering the

goods cost effectively, and handling returns (Agrawal et al., 2002).

• Controlling customer data: As outsourcing arrangements proliferate

and delivery services become more expert in using information

technology, retailers risk losing their lock on consumer data. This

knowledge, ranging from the socioeconomic status of customers to

their buying patterns and preferences, helps intermediaries and

shippers reduce costs, but they can also use it to compete with

retailers.

• Integrating on-and off-line orders: From an operations perspective, the

easiest route for companies with a foot in both the traditional and e

retail business might be to enter electronic orders manually into an off

line order management system. This option makes most sense when

the volume of Internet orders is high and companies must decide how

much integration they need.

• Delivering the goods cost-effectively: At present, every single

transaction challenges e-retailers to deliver the goods quickly, cheaply

and conveniently. The existing model for home delivery works well for

letters and flat packages but not for e-retail high volumes and wide

variety of packages shapes and sizes. But this is largely a technical

Chapter 2: LITerature review Page 32

and logistical, and it will be possible (though perhaps expensive) to

solve it by developing new sorting and scanning equipment and by

deploying larger delivery vehicles.

• Handling retums: The problem of retums is encapsulated in an old

saying in the book business: "gone today, with which customers can

retum here tomorrow". Some companies have built their reputations

partly on the ease with which customers can retum defective or

unwanted merchandise and the graciousness with which it is received.

E-retail businesses, with emphasis on convenience and customisation, must

be able to meet the above mentioned challenges. E-customers are also

faced with a few challenges and will be discussed.

2.5.3 E-retail challenges to e-customers

C .--r. .\ 4.-'--::;!-)..-- -

Some of the electronic channels through which customers interact with e-

retail businesses include the web, integrated voice response (IVR) systems,

e-mail, handheld digital appliances, cell phones and "smart" call centers.

(Seybold & Marshak, 1998).

Some studies have attempted to understand whether browsing on the

Intemet is correlated with purchasing on the Intemet (Lindquist &

Scarborough, 2002). It is questionable whether a perfect match is possible,

since some shoppers enjoy browsing as a separate activity, while others

purchase without browsing if their choice is clear and determined in advance.

The phenomenal growth of the e-retail sector has not been without its own

unique troubles and challenges to its customers. One of the main issues

arising repeatedly concerns the level of service provided during the course of

electronic transactions. For example, a market research suggests that one

out of every four e-shoppers perceives that there are "major" problems


associated with Internet shopping, ranging from confusing information, long

upload sessions, and payment difficulty (Ryan & Valverde, 2003). Internet

holiday shoppers have also reported myriad problems including late delivery,

paying extra shipping costs for products to arrive on time, receiving partial

orders, and receiving damaged merchandise (Zemke & Connellan, 2001).

Despite the recognition of the fact the service problems are relatively

widespread in the e-commerce sector to date, research on service failure and

recovery issues has focused almost exclusively on failure and recovery in the

context of interpersonal service encounters. That is, service situations in

which the service customer and provider interact with each other in order to

consummate the service transaction (Smith & Bolton, 2002).

To comprehend the impact of customer disappointment, it is important to

know what consumers consider to be bad experiences and how those

experiences will impact in their future actions. When experienced shoppers

were asked which barriers, if any, might prevent them from making more

online purchases in the near future, the need to touch, feel, and try on

products was the most common response as shown in figure 2.3 (see

questionnaire analysis: Appendix C). Internet retailers choosing to carry high

involvement products will continue to struggle with the consumer's need to

experience these types of products in future years (Windham & Orton, 2000).

Windham and Orton (2000) further illustrates that these high-involvement

retailers should seek ways to provide target customers with the required

tactile information to overcome the barriers to the sale. Whether addressed

through the use of better graphics technology and higher bandwidth or

through, multichannel alternatives, the issue must be addressed to break

through current barriers.

Chapter 2: L~erature review Page 34

40"1030%

% response

20%10%0%

Don't see anybarriers

Privacy issues

lack of time tolocate sites

l!!CD"ESecurily issues..m

Inability to see,touch, smell ..c:==:::::;::===::;===::;::===:;c~--)

Rgure 2.3: Barriers to purchasing online in 2000

Even though e-customers are becoming more and more comfortable with

providing credit card and personal information on the Internet, security and

privacy issues are still seen as barriers to e-shopping in the future. E-retailers

need to be sensitive to e-customers' reluctance to provide their personal

information on the Internet. One way to gain an e-customers' confidence

suggested by Windham and Orton (2000) is for e-retailers to address the

issue up-front with reassuring security and privacy policy statements.

Furthermore, it is imperative that companies abide by those policies. While

there are still barriers to break down, Windham and Orton note that in the

year 2000, 37% of customers remain optimistic and report that they did not

anticipate any barriers preventing them from buying more on the Internet.


Internet shopping, however, so far has not proven to be the panacea for the

e-customers' shopping wants and needs. These authors outlined these

primary drawbacks to Internet shopping;

• products not conducive to an Internet purchase.

• many customers appreciate and want to experience the "aesthetics of

shopping," Le., touching things and trying items on.

• returning products that do not meet customer requirements is a hassle.

• customers are reluctant to participate in e commerce if they do not

recognise or trust the company brand.

For some product categories, the Internet poses a threat to other shopping

channels. At the same time, companies who can address the disadvantages

present in the current Internet shopping alternatives have potential

opportunities.

These challenges however influence e-customers buying behaviour in various

ways, such as: use of the Internet to search and compare, while going to the

traditional shops to make their purchases (Koprowski, 2000; Levy & Nilson,

1999).C--.oc.....J ct....-,·,~

2.6 INTERNET TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE BEHAVIOUROF E-CUSTOMERS

Strategies for traditional retailing commonly refer to "location, location, and

location" as the critical factor, above all others. In e-retailing, all websites are

created equal and location becomes irrelevant. No site is "closer" to its

customers than any other, in the physical sense, and it is extremely easy to

slip from one retailing website to another. This makes it vital that businesses

persuade customers to come to their shops in the first place, and then come

back on future occasions. The key to this goal, it is said, is to optimise factors


such as efficiency, personalization, socialization, the look and the feel of the

website, offering incentives such as coupons, discounts, special offers,

vouchers and gift certificates to purchase and security (Agrawal et al., 2002).

This actually remains to be demonstrated in Chapter 4.

It has been over ten years since B2C e-commerce first evolved. Experts in e

commerce constantly strive to gain an improved insight into customers'

behaviour when using the Internet. Along with the development of e-retailing,

researchers continue to explain e-customers' behaviour from different

perspectives. According to Shergill and Chen (2003), there are general

models of buying behaviour that depict the process which customers use in

making a purchase decision. These models are very important to e-retailers

because they have the ability to explain and predict e-customers' purchase

behaviour.

According to Shergill and Chen (2003), the antecedents of Internet purchase

include many attitudinal components, e.g., attitude towards an e-retail

website, and perceived risk of Internet purchase. E-customers Intemet

shopping experience, website design and fulfilment quality are deemed by

these authors to be the major contributions of successful Internet

transactions.

Kleijnen, Ruyter and Wetzels (2001) in their pre-Internet study, investigated

why people shop, why they go to the traditional shops, and why they browse

but do not buy. This survey went beyond retail patronage and demonstrated

that people have numerous motives for shopping that are unrelated to the

actual purchasing of products. The e-customers in these authors' sample

reported that their shopping motives included:

• Carrying out expected roles

• Diversion from daily routine

• Self-gratification and response to moods


• Learning about new trends

• Physical activity

• Mental activity

• Sensory stimulation

• Social experiences outside the home

• Communication with e-customers with similar interest

• Peer group attractions

• Status and authority

• Pleasure of bargaining

Page 37

These motives according to Kleijnen et al (2001) are likely to result in

browsing that does not necessarily lead to purchasing. E-retailers who knows

their customers and identifies these motives could use it as an advantage

over their competitors.

2.7 TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS FACING E-RETAIL BUSINESS

Internet and World Wide Web technologies provide the infrastructure for the e

commerce revolution now taking place. As a result of these technologies.

even the smallest business can afford to market its products and services to

hundreds of millions of potential customers. However, these technologies

also pose threats to the very e-commerce which they enable (Rose et al.•

1999).

For managers to strategize and implement e-commerce effectively in their

businesses, these impediments need to be recognised and understood. Six

categories of technological impediments have been identified by (McCrohan.

2003). Those which appear to pose the greatest threats to the development

of e-retailing are;

• Download delays

• Limitations in the interface


• Search problems

• Inadequate measurement of web application success

• Security (real and perceived) weaknesses and

• Lack of Intemet standards.

Page 38

Download delays, security weaknesses and lack of Internet standards will be

discussed briefly.

• Download delays: Download time is described as the amount of time it

takes for a Web client machine to receive and display a data file

submitted by a Web server after that file was requested by the client.

Download delays impede the development and use of Internet

technologies such as multimedia for B2C e-commerce. For example,

technology exists to show a television ad on a company web page.

However, the waiting time required before such an ad is downloaded

and shown is prohibitive, and therefore is not often used. Download

delays are responsible for the virtual absence of television-style 30

second audio and video advertising over the Intemet (McCrohan,

2003).

For the most part, practical limits of multimedia use are established by

what e-customers think is acceptable download time. Under normal

computing conditions, e-customers find it objectionable to wait more

than a few seconds between computer processing cycles (such as the

amount of time it takes to load a web page upon requesting it).

Waiting more than half a minute is considered intolerable for e

customers (van der Merwe & Bekker, 2003).

• Security weaknesses: Security threats exist for both e-customers and

for e-retailers. There appears to be sufficient technology for secure

B2C e-commerce transactions on the networks between server and


client. However, technological impediments exist in the security

technologies that prevent hackers from attacking the client and server

sites themselves (McCrohan, 2003).

Transaction security concerns typically involve issues of either

privacy or guarantees of knowing to whom one is sending or from

whom one is receiving data. Much of the anxiety over Internet

security is unfounded and not a result of actual technological flaws.

Primarily, weaknesses in Internet security are the failure to utilize

existing security features of the Internet such as authentication and

encryption (De Borchgrave, Cilluffo, Cardash & Ledgerwood, 2000).

Just as a phone line can be tapped, an Internet message can be

overheard by various sources. Fear of privacy breaches over the

Internet is a product of its design. One core problem is that the Internet

is a very public and accessible communications network. Data

transmitted can be intercepted fairly easily. If not scrambled or made

uninterpretable during transmission, messages can likewise be easily

read at any forwarding node on the Internet (Gordon, Loeb, Lucyshyn

& Richardson, 2005).

Internet technology is no better or worse than telephone technology in

guaranteeing that the person on the other end of the line is who they

claim to be. Short of having a guarantor analogous to a thumb print or

a signature, one cannot be sure with whom one is dealing. To secure

Internet computing, technology was created to conceal messages and

guarantee the identity of people on each end of the transmission.

Digital signatures, Secure Electronic Transaction (SET), and similar

technologies can act as guarantors for the transaction, assuring

interested parties that the signatories involved currently exist and are

who they claim to be (Gordon, Loeb, Lucyshyn & Richardson, 2005).

Chapter 2: Lnerature review Page 40

• Lack of Intemet standards: Lack of Intemet standards is another

technological impediment to e-retail businesses. This results from the

absence of well established and agreed-upon Intemet standards.

Intemet standards are used as guidelines for the development of

Intemet software which conforms to generally accepted rules for

communication between applications. For example, by conforming to

standard protocols, a browser developer can know the format needed

to request, receive and interpret HTML files. Using this format allows

browsers to communicate with all Web servers which also conform to

the same standards (Jackson & Hams, 2002).

Jackson and Hams (2002) further explain that problems occur when

there is either an absence of a standard or when an existing standard is

augmented. In the case where standards are augmented, multiple

parties are often augmenting the original standard in proprietary ways

to meet a new perceived need. The difficulty is that many solutions to a

single problem may coexist simultaneously without an agreed-upon

standard.

2.8 E-RETAIL BENEFITS TO E-CUSTOMERS

Walsh and Godfrey (2000) emphasises that it is the ability of e-retailers to

offer a high level of added value, beyond ease and convenience of the

shopping process that makes shopping on the Intemet a real threat to

traditional retailing. At its most basic this is a gift-wrapping service, at the

most extreme it is personalised recommendations, gifts or promotions. It is

much easier to offer these services in the virtual world. Musica recommend

new titles by a favourite author or topic of interest. CDNow.com informs the

customer that a long-awaited DVD has been released. Netflorist, South

Africa's known flower and gift service sends a reminder of Mum's birthday

and makes gift suggestions (Walsh & Godfrey, 2000). Travelocity.com


advises when a particular trip a customer has been waiting for becomes

available. As customers increasingly use the Intemet to shop and realise the

added value it offers, as they get used to being treated as individuals, they

will come to expect this both on and off the Intemet. These authors further

explain that e-commerce cannot simply be considered as an altemative outlet

for distribution.

Furthermore, Ryan and Valverde (2003) explain that customers who choose

to communicate through a particular medium expect the firm to respond in

that same medium. For e-retailers, it is also important to recognise that,

because the Intemet is an instant means of communication. Customers who

choose to communicate through the Intemet are unwilling to tolerate delays.

Moreover, they demand an information service that is not only prompt, but

also proactive.

The pioneers of e-commerce have had an advantage. They have had time to

leam by their mistakes in a relatively quiet, non-competitive environment

when the industry was in its infancy and customer expectations were lower.

They have also built up an information bank, which they use to deliver added

value to their customers. They do this in a variety of different ways.

• Customised Web-Pages: E-retailers allow customers to develop their

own web or home pages. 'My Peapod.com and MyCDNow.com which

includes a personal Wish List' are examples of customised web pages.

Customers can also design their own garden with the online nursery

Gardenes-cape.com or keep a fumiture plan with Furniture.com's

'make it your home' (Adelaar, Bouwman & Steinfield, 2004).

• Targeted Information: E-retailers actively target information to

customers. This includes the targeting of advertising, promotions and

tailor-made activities. They are personally directed, highly relevant to

"


the customer and appear to be designed specifically for them. By

targeting advertising, e-retailers create an opportunity to cross-sell. A

customer who books a holiday to Botswana through Travelocity.com,

the US worldwide travel site, will be exposed to relevant advertising.

For example, the customer can make a direct link to Amazon.com with

a recommendation on travel books on Botswana and guides to the

fauna and flora of the area. The customer gets added value through

the additional information that the advertising offers but only because

the content is relevant and the timing is right (Walsh & Godfrey, 2000).

• Customer-retailer interaction: E-retailers involve customers directly by

asking for feedback, points of view on products, comments or

suggestions on a range of topics. E-retailers are courteous and

grateful to the customer for this input. They send an automated 'thank

you' and/or follow up with a personalised response. The e-retailer also

creates opportunities for online participation in, or virtual access to,

real-time in-store activities. At PrintempsJr, a French department

store, a customer can gain access to specific store events.

VictoriaSecret.com, the US based underwear and lingerie store, invited

customers to join their Internet fashion show (Adelaar et al., 2004).

• Customer-to-Customer Interaction: Customer-to-customer interaction,

whether direct or indirect, also creates value. VirtualVineyard.com's

food site uses their 'Recipe Queen' to indirectly link customers. They

offer recipes, cooking tips and suggestions but also post the answers

to customer's questions, comments and ideas on the Internet for other

e-eustomers to view. Amazon.com, CDNow.com use customer input

in the creation of their book, music and film reviews, to the benefit of

other customers (Walsh & Godfrey, 2000).


Walsh and Godfrey also state that e-retailers establish direct customer

to-customer interaction through online communities. These bring like

minded groups of people together for discussions or chats, or to

participate in 'talk forums' hosted by a representative of the e-retailer.

The e-retailer posts on the net the specific topic and the time of the

discussion in advance. Anyone is free to 'join in'. E-trade.com, the US

financial and trading services company, has two successful sites for

online communities - 'Communities at E-trade' and 'Uve@E-trade'.

This is probably the closest that e-retailers get to address the social

aspects of shopping on the Internet.

• Rewards and Incentives: As in the traditional shop, e-retailers are

developing reward programmes and purchase incentives.

Clickrewards offers frequent flyer air miles when purchasing from

specific online sites. Mypoints offers points that can later be redeemed

for purchases on the Internet. Other forms of incentives are 'structured

surprises'. Customers appear to like this because the gifts are relevant

but unexpected.

E-retail shops offer e-consumers a set of conveniences, and also introduce

some new conveniences for shopping. For instance, while e-shopping

attempts to be quick and efficient, its round the clock availability adds a

dimension of "schedule convenience" that allows the customer to access

merchandise and make comparisons regardless of the time of day. These

customers can fit shopping into their schedule, it can be started, paused, and

resumed when interruptions occur (Dennis, Harris & Sandhu, 2002).

It can be argued that Internet shopping eliminates many of the structural

barriers that disabled shoppers have encountered in the bricks and mortar

setting. This i According to Reichheld and Schefter (2000), successful e

retailers do not win the loyalty of customers through technological application


but, rather, through the process of consistently delivering a superior customer

experience.

2.9 SUMMARY

And so it can be seen that technology and the behaviour of e-customers has

evolved. Recognising this at an early stage in the evolution of e-retailing,

Rowley (1996) suggests that e-retailers need to continuously enhance the

value of their digital online offering. This gives a direction for the research

that is to be done. In an interactive W/o-way world, it is the customer and not

the e-retailer, who decides with whom to interact, what to interact about, and

how to interact (Rowley, 1996). This requires that e-retailers acquire a good

knowledge of customer behaviour within such an environment and

understand their habits and preferences, in order to sell products and

services that meet customer needs. To this end, e-retailers have the

technology capabilities on their side, as the e-retail environment provides

them with an enormous amount of information they can use to enhance their

understanding of the customer. The more informed an e-retailer is about its

customer, the bigger the change in the dynamics of shopping process such

as convenience, 24-hour availability or competitive pricing. It is here that the

value of e-retailing is expected to be seen.

"

Chapter 3: Research design and methodology

CHAPTER 3RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 APPROACH TO THE RESEARCH

Page 45

This research began with a wide ranging literature review. This also included

a review of documents of various organisations involved with e-retailing such

as the Intemational e-retail Association and the Department of Trade and

Industry. From this review, previous work was identified and also evidence of

research design and methodology was found. The collection of primary

research data proceeded in two stages, using a qualitative research design

and a quantitative research design. Questionnaires (quantitative) and

personal interviews (qualitative) were used as instnuments for data collection

to locate where quality of service can be improved to ensure customer loyalty

and reveal the overall impact of the Intemet in the e-retailing environment.

The use of questionnaires and personal interviews also helped to identify

where stability in the retail environment could be enhanced to ensure that an

effective e-retail benefits are gained.

Figure 3.1: research model

Improved product Customer loyalty Increased marketand service quality share and

profitability

Rgure 3.1: research model

Figure 3.1 above shows the research model. The researcher collected data

through questionnaires to examine how e-retailing improves customers

shopping experience. The survey method was considered useful for this

particular project because it cames good and accurate study of the population

surveyed (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2003). Identifying the needs of e

customers with a view to satisfying them is important to e-retailers.

"

Chapter 3: Research design and methodology Page 46

The survey method through the design of questionnaire has generated useful

empirical data that can be used to develop appropriate e-retail strategies. It is

also convenient to generate comparative data that is used to analyse

dependent variables. While case study method requires long period of time in

the field and emphasise detailed observational evidence, the survey method

can generate quick data (Jones and Smith, 2001) cited in Saunders et ai,

(2003). Convenient shopping is an important element for e-shoppers,

investigating this through survey questionnaires provides the basis for this

research.

3.2 THE USE OF QUESTIONNAIRE

150 (One hundred and fifty) respondents were targeted for the completion of

the questionnaire and these respondents are expected to be able to read and

understand the questions, computer literates and Internet users. Therefore

the implications of age, literacy level and visual ability were taken into

consideration (Denscombe, 2003:145). Areas that were investigated include

the quality of goods and services available to e-customers, customers'

satisfaction and profitability. These areas of enquiry were derived from the

research domain. Denscombe (2003) states that the premise of using a

questionnaire is that it can be used generate the right information from the

respondent.

The reason for using this method is to ensure that varieties of data and

sources used are relevant to a broader spectrum of e-commerce businesses,

particularly those involved in e-retailing.

3.3 INTERVIEW DESIGN

Interviews were chosen for the investigation of management viewpoints

because of the uncertainty of the outcome (there views could not be

. '


anticipated so as to design a questionnaire) and because they were few in

number. The interview sample was made up of seven e-commerce and e

business professionals whose experiences are based upon work in South

Africa and the United States. The professional e-retail experience of the

respondents ranges from three to ten years. The respondents were required

to participate in a 45-minute semi-structured interview. The researcher had a

list of themes and questions to be covered. During the interview, the extent to

which the respondent understands the questions were determined

(Denscombe, 2003:167).

The objective of the interviews was to help reveal how e-retail businesses

ensure customer loyalty in the e-retail environment. Respondents interviewed

include;

Mr Yahya Patel- E-commerce Manager of Musica in Cape Town

Mr Mojeed Biobaku - Senior Systems Analyst for Woolworth Head office inCape Town

Mr Elred Lawrence - E-commerce Business Systems Manager for Pick 'n'Pay Head office in Cape Town

Ms Jennifer Schreuder - E-commerce Executive for MegaShopper in CapeTown

Mr Warien Moss - E-commerce Manager for Digital Planet in Cape Town

Mr Chike Nwoffiah - Executive Director for Oriki Theater in California, USA

Mrs Deffria Bass - Managing Director for T-Shirts for the Soul in California,USA.

The interviewees maintained that the views expressed are from their own

personal capacity. The interviews conducted were a combination of face-to

face and web-based interview. The interviews were recorded, transcribed

and analysed.

,.

Chapter 3: Research design and methodology

3.4 DATA COLLECTION AND SAMPLE SIZE

Page 48

The researcher administered one hundred and fifty questionnaires (150)

through fax, hand delivery and web-based. The group of respondents

comprised of working class people, credit card holders and student from both

the University of Cape Town and Cape Peninsula University Technology.

These respondents were randomly selected and contacted.

Out of the one hundred and fifty people contacted, fifty (50) respondent return

completed questionnaire. This represent 33% response rate from the

questionnaire. This according to the CPUT MTech research criteria for a mini

thesis can be classified as successful. This success rate was achieved

because the questionnaires were administered electronically. Respondents

see this as more convenient, user friendly and less time consuming than the

manual process. The sample of the questionnaire can be found in Appendix

B.

One advantage of using the survey method is that data collection can be

done through telephone, e-mail, postal and personal survey compared to

case study that requires in-depth study of variables. The cost effect and time

requirement is another useful reason the researchers consider web-based

surveys as appropriate. A significant limitation of this method is the self

selection sampling procedure (Mathwick, 2002).

The web-based survey was developed to meet the following four objectives;

• easy and quick feedback from respondents is possible with Internet;

• the software program used could be transparently incorporated into the

questionnaire, to prompt respondents for a complete response and to

avoid duplication in the answers;

"


• it provided convenient data collection instrument that can be completed

and returned easily and

• data transferability required for statistical analysis without the burden of

data entry are possible

• The reliability of the questionnaire is important and it is considered to

be the primary instrument of data collection. It was therefore prepared

with objective of addressing the above stated research questions.

The review of the literature, comments from questionnaire respondents, the

comments of the interviewees and the resulting findings are all analysed and

interwoven in the next chapter. For clarity, the findings are also presented

graphically in Chapter 4.

••

Chapter 4: Data analysis and interpretation

CHAPTER 4DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Page 50

From previous e-commerce research, the impact of Internet technology on

retailing is described in chapter 1 and 2. Based on the research design and

methods, this chapter presents the results of the in-depth interviews

conducted with various role players in the e-retail industry. The

questionnaires and interviews were used to generate data that is now

analysed against the background problem stated earlier in preceding

chapters. Appendices Band D presents a sample of the questionnaires that

were used for data collection.

4.2 INTERVIEW RESULTS OF E-COMMERCE MANAGERS

The role players available for interview consisted of seven people from the

food, groceries, clothing, music, household goods, computer hardware and

software e-retail Industries in Cape Town and two people from the

entertainment and clothing e-retail Industry in the United States. A brief

profile of the business activities is given below.

• Musica - Cape Town: Musica is a music retail shop that offers its

customers music CD's, DVD's, gaming, gift vouchers, pulse magazine

and downloads such as ringtones and MMS. Musica has recently

introduced a new service where customers can listen to their choice of

music online before making a purchase. This kind of service has

created additional shopping pleasure to e-customers in different

geographical locations. The competitive nature of retail business

requires competitive strategies that are progressive, dynamic and

sustainable. The Internet technology adds a new dimension capable of

achieving this objective for increased market share and profitability.

Chapter 4: Data analysis and interpretation Page 51

• Woolworth Inthebag - Cape Town: Woolworths is one of the major

retailers throughout the world operating with a "single brand"

philosophy and the only store of its kind in South Africa offering

textiles/clothing, food, homeware and financial services under its own

brand name. These services and products are available on their e

retail shopping site for customers. The e-retail business of Woolworths

is a long term strategic initiatives. According to Mojeed Biobaku,

systems analysis, Woolworths state that the operation have limited

profit potential, however, the company is committed to the delivery of

improve products and services to its customers. The level of

commitment to customers' satisfaction is important in maintaining

customer loyalty. As customer will always patronise products and

services that most satisfy their needs.

• Pick 'n' Pay Home Shopping - Cape Town: The Pick 'n' Pay Group is

one of South Africa's retailers of food, clothing and general

merchandise.

Pick 'n' Pay Home Shopping offer customers the opportunity to shop

for groceries over the Internet. Pick 'n Pay Home Shopping has

expanded its offering to include general merchandise, videos, DVDs,

music, toys and games, an online liquor store and party platters

(Gauteng and Pretoria only). Customers can buy almost everything

that they would expect to find in your local Pick 'n' Pay Supermarket,

online, at the same prices. This according to Elred Lawrence is one of

Pick'n' Pay's business strategy in improving their customers shopping

experience and it is seen as a necessity in maintaining customer

loyalty.


• MegaShopper - Cape Town: MegaShopper is an e-retail shop that

sells products such as audio visual and computers, electrical

appliances, fumiture, housewares, jewellery, toys and baby products.

• Digital Planet - Cape Town: Digital Planet offers IT vendors, service

providers and manufacturers the unique opportunity to market their

company's products and services on what has become the online

electronics hub in South Africa. Their targeted customers are

corporates and IT professionals. Digital Planet has thousands of

products from PCs, notebooks, games and DVDs to fridges,

microwaves and home theatre systems.

• Oriki Theatre - Califomia, USA: Oriki Theatre is a non profit

community based theatre, that provides opportunities for their

communities to have a shared experience of the real Africa, its people

and their way of life through a unique combination of dance, drama,

music, poetry, chants, folk stories and the drum. From outreach

programs in local schools to seasonal productions, the theatre seeks to

provide various ways for participants to experience Africa and their

way of life. Oriki sells tickets and make online bookings of their shows

on their website. They also sell T-shirts and memorabilia of different

dance or drama groups from different festivals held.

• T-Shirts for the Soul - Califomia, USA: T-shirts for the Soul create

designs with their customers in mind. Their design centre customises

designs for all businesses and all occasions. T-shirts for the Soul

offers corporations a new logo or T-shirts for any event, schools t-shirts

for band trips or athletes, churches a new design for a summer church

picnic or individuals a new design for a family reunion.


4.2.1 The demographics of the e-retail companies

The first demographic question asked was how many employees the

company has. Three of the respondents indicated that their company has

fewer than 20 employees, two companies have more than 50 employees and

two companies also have more than 500 employees. This question was

asked to ascertain the size of the company - small, small-medium or large.

Small sized e-retail businesses are financially limited and their service and

product offerings are also limited. This could be a hindrance for such

business in implementing the best business strategy for the growth of the

business. Strategies such acquiring a greater market share or improving

service quality through the introduction of various technologies and

functionalities for an effective customer shopping experience. Large or

medium sized businesses have more advantage of offering a complete

service online, e.g. payment and delivery.

Each of these businesses was asked how long they have been in business:

14% of the e-retail businesses have been in business for the period of 2 to 4

years. 43% have been in business for a period of 5 to 7 years, 14% - 8 to 10

years and 28% more than 10 years. These e-retailers that have been in

business for 4 years or less did not see e-retailing contributing a high or fairly

high percentage towards the company's overall profit margin. This is result of

not being in the business for longer to help monitor and detennine the growth.

In the finding, 43% of the businesses interviewed incorporated e-retailing at

the initial stage of their business model development, 29% at the middle

stage and 29% at a later stage. Businesses that incorporated e-retailing

earlier or at an initial stage had the benefit of acquiring more market share.

They were able to achieve that by listening to their customers complaints,

satisfying their needs and improve service quality. Some of these early

adopters also failed initially because an existing e-retail business model was

not available rather they had to create one and try it out. E-retailers that


included e-retailing at the middle or later stage had the privilege to learn from

the doom of other companies and try not to repeat same failed model.

4.3 E-RETAIL IMPACT

According to one of the interviewees, e-retailing has impacted on their

company's general business activities. They had to implement new strategies

and processes in their shops and made sure they worked. They also had to

develop new competencies, such as managing the unfamiliar issues that

arise from partnerships. The experience of outsourcing partnerships with

delivery companies, IT service providers and call centre operators all

presented new challenges to the business. These findings have helped to

have an overview e-retail companies views on the following;

• reasons for moving into e-retail business

• the experience and products and services offered

• impact of e-retailing on existing traditional shop

• e-commerce managers' view on customer loyalty

• impact of e-retailing on business strategy

Reasons for moving into e-retailing

Respondents were then asked what led to the move into e-retailing, 29% said

that it was to increase sales, 43% said it was to improve customer relations

by providing better service, 43% said that the decision was driven by

competition while 14% responded that it was a new concept introduced to

help reduce overhead costs. In this question, the respondents could choose

more than one option and could also add any additional reason. Competition

was one of these reasons and another was because e-retailing is a global

thing, said one of the respondents. Figure 4.1 provides explanation on why

companies embark on e-retailing and it is leadership in what they do over

their competitors.


The main focuses for the research were evident in the response of the e

retailers and this includes; improved product and service quality, customer

loyalty and increased market share and profitability. Improving customer

relations and loyalty through improvement of service quality is seen as great

importance to the business. Increase in sales was rated as less important.

40

35

30

25

"''''''''''' 20

15

10

5

oTo increase sales To improve customer- Driven by competition To beat competition New concept introduced

relations to help reduce overhead

"""reasons

Figure 4.1: What has led to the move into e-retailing

The experience and products and services offered

The experience according to one of the respondents has been complex,

difficult, painful, challenging and exciting. One of the respondents continues;

"It's a very difficult marketing invention. The advantages from ourcompany's perspective are that we already set our own rules and set ourown brand. Also people understand the brand. The disadvantage is thatthe brand has already been created in terms of it being something that wedare not break. So, in whatever we do, we have to consider the fact thatour company is in question and we also have to be exceedingly careful inwhatever decisions we are taking".


The table 4.1 lists all the products and services offered bye-retailers

interviewed and the right hand column is the proportion of responding

companies.

I',H,,'H,"', PropOrtion oflE"

.......,,__•••___ ............w,I ,/";;, '"",' ",'...,.;, , ,;" .•;",

responding'cClmpanies""'""";':,, ,

Computer hardware 43%

Computer software 14%

Books 29%

Travel 14%

Music, video (CO's, OVO's, audio) 43%

Oomestic & kitchen 43%

News 14%

Tickets 14%

Toys/gifts 29%

Banking 14%

Entertainment 43%

Arts & craft 14%

All retail related products e.g. what you find in 29%Game stores - South Africa

Table 4.1: Products and servIces offered bye-reta,lers

The purpose of the above question is to compare the retailer's choice of

products and services with the customers' wants and needs. In order for e

retailers to maximum benefit from e-retailing, there is a need to identify the

needs of their customer and make provision for it.

Impact of e-retailing on existing traditional shop

Furthermore, the respondents were asked if they have an existing traditional

shop. 43% of the businesses have traditional shops while 57% said that they

only operate online. Those e-retailers who have traditional shops were asked


the effect of e-retailing on their company's traditional shop. 43% of the

interviewees believe that e-retailing does not have much impact on their

traditional shop. At the initial stage, the concem was that e-retailing would

take away substantial part of the traditional shop's trade but it did not. The

57% that does not have traditional shops responded 'no effect'.

However, there were fears that employees might lose their jobs in the shops

due to this, but job loses have proved to be negligible, according to e-retailers

who have traditional shops.

E-commerce managers' view on customer loyalty

When respondents were probed to obtain their opinion on their customers'

shopping experience, most of the respondents felt that people see shopping

as an experience and a way of socialising and not just buying goods.

Customers buy emergency goods from the Intemet and still go out on

weekends to do weekly or monthly shopping. This is part of socialising and

not just shopping. Customers who order via the Intemet also shop at the

traditional shop.

One of the respondents illustrated further, when customers purchase from the

Internet or traditional shop, the data about what they buy is linked to the

company loyalty card, so the company knows who their customers are

irrespective of the channel the customer uses. If the customer logs onto the

company website through a home computer or PDA, their favourite or

recently purchased items will be listed whether they bought in a store or

online. The company has extended this card membership system to every

person that walks into the shop. After a period of time customers who have

accumulated points will be rewarded with a voucher based on how much they

have spent in the shop. The company uses this method to track other non

card carriers, at the same time retaining the existing customers and attracting

new ones.


All the e-retail respondents mentioned improved customer service as one of

the ways e-retailers could maintain customer loyalty. These respondents

recommend that e-retailers must leverage customer information for the

effective management of customer relationships on the Internet. Such

strategy, according to the e-retailers interviewed suggests something much

more radical than the basic e-commerce approach adopted by many e-retail

businesses at the moment. It calls for a re-engineering of processes and

structures focused around key customer groups, rather than product or

service divisions. It also implies cross-functional, team working. As Siegel

(2000:107) puts it:

"The customer-led company has a broad interface across which allemployees can get to know their customers. Employees invite customers into collaborate on new products, support systems, and methodologies.Facilitating those interactions will take new communication skills, new tools,and the ability to move people in and out ofproduct teams easily. "

In order for e-retailers to attract a higher percentage of e-customers, they will

need to take their (e-customers) suggestions into consideration in order to

attract new ones as well as retain loyal customers.

Impact of e-retailing on business strategy

The entire e-retail managers noted that e-retailing has provided them with an

opportunity to maintain a global reach and to promote their services to a

wider audience. 43% believe that e-retailing helped them to increase the

company profit margin, 57% felt e-retailing has proVided them with world wide

visibility and 71% believed e-retailing has assisted them in maintaining the

company's accessibility to customers. 43% mentioned that e-retailing

enabled them to incorporate targeted marketing, shorten transaction times

(better customer service) and reduce manpower. 29% of the respondents


stated that e-retailing helps the company to manage its franchise stores in

different regions.

Five of the respondents were of the opinion that the administration costs have

increased. Two respondents were unsure. These five respondents have

established that the focus changed and the marketing department became

the driving force followed by sales and IT. In these cases a totally new

division was established where they had to implement a number of new

functions to accommodate e-retailing. These had to do with IT systems and

links to back end systems. It was also stated that in this shift to a new

paradigm there is a need for faster decision making, more flexibility and

empowerment, and old habits had to be unlearned. One respondent stressed

that their initial model, which was to implement e-retailing within the existing

infrastructure, was a mistake. Operationally they had to change their strategy

in order to facilitate order taking and credit verification, and the delivery

procedure had to be speeded up. New analytical procedures also had to be

implemented to track performance.

However, one of the respondents felt that the buying of large bulky goods on

the Internet requires high delivery cost, and this means that the cost of

delivery is disproportionately high compared to the value of the goods. This is

why people who are leaders in Internet retailing are those who deal in goods

such as books, records, flowers; things that do not require special delivery

arrangements.

The respondents were then asked what they understand their customers'

needs to be, and to rate them, in order of importance. The question was

asked to compare the e-retailers responses with e-customers responses.


E-RETAlLERS UNDERSTANDING OF CUSTOMER NEEDS

Page 60

• Technical assistance

mucm

"o~E Not importanto~

m~o

Important~! .

DTools to better manage their business, such asonllne courses, systms to resolve critical dientissues and management applications

_Interest in new potential products and services

[] Returns & exchange process satisfaction

.Customer service process satisfaction

OTImelness of delivery

o Order status

.Online orders and order planning

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% BProduct-level satisfaction

Pert:entage(%)

Rgure 4.2: E-retailers understanding of customer needs

The chart shows that all the respondents' rated product-level satisfaction and

order status as very important to customers while interest in new potential

products/services and tools to better manage their business as least

important.

All the respondents agree that moving their business online has attracted

more customers for them. However, they suggest that in order to continue

attracting new customers when trading over the Intemet they need to be able

to provide 'service, service, and service'. The respondents all admitted that

they have not begun to achieve that yet. However, they need to continue

finding new ways to cater for their customer needs and maintain service

quality. One of the biggest problems identified by two of the respondents is

being out of stock. This puts the company in a situation where they have to


try to second guess what the customers would want that is in stock. As an e

retail company the first thing, according to the respondents, is to make sure

that the company does not run out of stock.

The advantages of e-retail business introduction from one of the respondent's

perspective were that they already have the brand and also people

understand the brand. The following were also identified by the respondents

as the benefits of e-retailing to their company;

Promoting our services to a wideraudienceIncreasing company profit margin

Providing customers with convenience

Accessibility of company to customer

No. of Responses

100%

100%

43%

43%

29%

71%

Table 4.2: Benefits of e-retailing

The disadvantage according to one of the respondents is that the brand has

already been created in terms of it being something that they dare not break.

In other words in everything they do, they have to consider the fact that the

company is in question. They also have to be exceedingly careful in

whatever decisions the business takes so that it does not crumble which

would result in the 82C site needing to start from scratch again.

4.4 E-CUSTOMER SURVEY RESULTS

A total of fifty (50) e-customers responded to the questionnaire administered.

These e-customers consisted of 18% (students), 12% (office workers) and

70% (professionals). The following sections present the results of the

questionnaires; demographics, use of the Internet as a means of shopping,


benefits and limitations and recommendation to e-retail businesses. (Refer to

Appendix C for the questionnaire analysis).

The following sections present the results of the questionnaires:

4.4.1 The demographics of e-customers

E-customers were asked to indicate their gender, age, occupation, area of

residence, approximate income and the highest qualification they have

obtained. The objective of these questions is to group the respondents into

various categories. This will be used to identify the factors that influence each

respondent's usage of the Intemet and the possibility of becoming an e

customer.

The table below shows the sections of the demographics used in the

questionnaire and the percentage responses.

Demographics Category % Response

54%

46%

18-30 40%

31-45 38%

46-60 18%

Student 18%

Office worker 12%

Professional 70%

54%

Female

Male

Table: 4.3: Demographics, category and response rate

High school certificate 6%

Diploma 12%

Degree 42%

Honours 20%

Masters 18%

Doctorate 2%


residenceIn a city 32%

In a town or village 14%

Less than 2 000 12%

2000- 6000 8%

6001-10000 18%

10001 - 14000 36%

14001 -18000 18%

18001 - 22000 4%

22 001 - 26 000 2%

More than 26 000 2%

The table clearly indicates that more females use the Internet compared to

males and the age of Internet users that responded ranges from 18 to 60

years. The age result has proven that age is not such a factor that

determines a user's capability of utilising the Internet. 70% of the

respondents are professionals in the occupation category. This could be

linked to how often they utilise the Internet, the medium and mode (Iaptop or

desktop and ADSL - Asymemetric Digital Subscriber, 3G - Third Generation

connection or Wi-Fi - Wireless Fidelity connection) of accessing the Internet,

their financial status (6 001 to 18 000 - 'R' or '$') as well as having a better


opportunity of becoming an e-customer. This category of respondents has

greater opportunity of engaging in e-shopping at some stage.

4.4.2 E-customers reasons for using the Internet

E-eustomers were asked to indicate factors that affect their decision in

accessing the Intemet. E-eustomers were allowed to choose more than one

option. This question was posed to find out if shopping will stand as the main

reason for using the Internet. .

Reason(s) for using the Internet. (Respondents may choosemore than one option)

Cl><:oCl>..Cl>0::

Work

leisure or fun

News ~~~E

Shopping g~~~~~U--L~l~l-J-~--=-L~j0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

% response

Figure 4.3: E-customer's reason(s) for using the Internet

The graph shows that the Internet as a convenient means of shopping has

the lowest rating with 27%. This shows that respondents use the Internet for

other purposes and more than for shopping. The questionnaire results also

show that respondents utilise the services offered by companies on the

Internet such as news (65%), general interest in browsing or for fun/leisure

(67%). The respondents use the Internet more for work purposes (90%) and

for communication (82%). These two reasons were the most highly rated.


Most of the respondents noted several other reasons why they do not

purchase from the Internet: unfamiliar vendor, not enough information, lack

of socialisation with customers, and a preference for human contact as

opposed to a computer. These e-customers gave suggestions on how e

retail businesses could improve their websites to enable them to keep coming

back to the site for transactions. These suggestions included;

• To expand range of products (46% respondents)

• To expand availability of products (12% respondents)

• To improve provisions of security and privacy (20% respondents)

• To reduce high cost of total purchase (10% respondents)

• To improve ease of use of the site (20% respondents)

• To make websites easier to find (16% respondents)

In the discussion of the interview results, two of the e-retail businesses

interviewed focused on improving the speed of the website rather than the

layout. When compared to e-customers suggestions listed above, it is

evident that to improve speed aligns with ease of use of the company

website.

4.5 CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH

In order to contextualise the results in view of the aims/objectives of the

research, one has to answer the three research questions (RQ) of the study

to the light of these results.

RQ 1: Does e-retailing improve customers' shopping experience?

It is clear from the survey conducted that while customers are adopting

the Internet as a shopping medium, gaps remain between the

shopping experience in the physical world and the shopping


experience on the Internet that go against the Internet as the preferred

medium for shopping. Some of the most frequently discussed

limitations of e-retailing were security and privacy concerns, speed of

access, mass penetration, and lack of navigation standards. This

research has surveyed e-customers on their reasons for not engaging

in e-shopping. The survey results have consistently listed security,

ability to judge quality, privacy, and easier to buy locally as the top four

most frequently sited reasons for customers not purchasing from the

Internet. However, most of the customers seemed to be much less

concerned about security, thus elevating inability to judge quality to the

most frequently cited reason for not purchasing from the Internet.

The research also noted several other reasons that e-customers do not

purchase from the Internet: unfamiliar vendor, not enough information,

lack of socialization with customers, and a preference for human

contact as opposed to a machine.

The survey not only identified the limitations but also identified the

benefits and reasons that e-customers do shop on the Internet as: 24

hour availability, convenient means of shopping, availability of local

and international manufactured goods and time saving. These

reasons according to most of the customers, have contributed in

improving their shopping experience. However, some respondents

use the Internet for other reasons, such as read news and research

and not for shopping. It is noted that whatever reason an e-customer

uses the Internet; it could be seen as a change in the customer's

original shopping pattern. (Hence, the research question 2 is

answered.)

However, further research should be undertaken to determine the

extent e-retailing has affected e-customers' attitude toward traditional

retailing and their intention to shop in the traditional shop.


RQ 2: Can e-retailers easily overcome the challenges of e-retailing?

Page 67

The e-retail businesses interviewed stated that improving customer

loyalty and satisfaction, improving product and service quality,

increasing profitability are the reasons for their move into e-retailing..

The key role players admitted that it is very difficult, practically to

implement quality of service and product maintenance. However, the

only way the company can foresee achieving an efficient quality of

service, is by being "picky" in measuring how close the company is, as

opposed to whether the company is actually achieving that is the way

forward. In as much as companies focus on service quality, giving

customer's value for their money so that they can come back was also

identified as important. The key role players mentioned that since they

are all in the same industry going for the same customers, studying the

market reaction and frequent checking of the market share helped

them in ensuring that their market share does not drop. One of the key

e-retail business respondent mentioned that they had to go back and

re-look at their business processes, change them if necessary, re

learn, re-motivate and re-teach them to staff. To ensure customer

retention and loyalty, this e-retailer believes that a service provider

must "educate" its own users about the potential benefits resulting from

the supplied service.

E-retail businesses that also have traditional shops acknowledged that

the business is working towards providing their online customers with

variety of products and services offered on the traditional shop

(integration). Out of stock and delivery problems are issues these e

retailers stated they also need to overcome to enhance the retention of

their existing customers and help attract new ones. (Hence, research

question 1 is answered.)


Further research should be conducted with e-retailers on how these

improvements in their business operations impact on e-customers trust

on the services they provide. As Reichheld, Markey and Hopton

(2000) noted;

"E-satisfaction directly and positively affects e-Ioyalty.Trust is proposed as another important antecedent ofloyalty"...

Ra 3: What are the effects of business strategies on e-retailing?

It emerged from the research that most of the e-retailers have a

department with responsibility for business development that studies

business strategies as well as what is happening to keep the company

up to date. They come up with strategies and initiatives to help

improve product and service quality for the company. With that they

are able to maintain their lead in the market without being off the track

with new strategies that could be tested and implemented. This also

helps to improve services thereby gaining the loyalty of the customers.

Once the customers are happy, it means that the business is achieving

its set objectives.

It was also evident in the e-retailers response that listening to customer

complaints and ideas helps e-retailers to understand their needs and

endeavour them. Another important factor identified is making good

quality products and services available to customers at the right time,

place and at a price that give value for money.

Some of the key role players indicated that they had to make changes

to the existing business structure and operations. They stated that

because customers collect goods from their traditional shop, they were

obliged to make changes to the shop as customer needs increased. In

general there was no conclusive opinion about the effect e-retailing

might have on their traditional retail shop's future expansion plan.


Most of the companies indicated that their existing computer systems

can be leveraged to accommodate e-retailing, except when the issue

of system incompatibility comes into play or the existing system is

certified outdated. Then the need for new technologies arises, and

they must be developed or purchased.

Leveraging service quality from the traditional retailing to the e-retail

environment to guarantee continuity of loyal customers is another

business strategy e-retailers stated. This could be done by

incorporating the services offered into the traditional shop on the e

retail shop. The technology aspect will include changing the interface

of the company e-retail website to a more effective one. (Hence, the

research question 3 is answered.)

E-retailers that were interviewed stated some reasons for engaging in e

retailing: improved customer relations, increased income, entry to new

markets and to attract new customers. While they are in the process of

achieving these, they are faced with a few concerns and expectations from e

customers. The concerns and expectations include: improvement in

customer relations, improvement in product information and product

availability, improvement of e-retail techniques and establishing of procedures

to fill Internet gaps.

In the next Chapter, recommendations will be made to enable e-retailers

improve product and service quality, maintain customer loyalty and gain

market share and profit.

Chapter 5: Recommendations and conclusion

CHAPTERSRECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

5.1 INTRODUCTION

Page 70

In conclusion, this chapter provides recommendations based on the results

presented in Chapter 4.

These are:

• improved product and service quality

• customer satisfaction and loyalty

• increased market share and profit.

5.2 PRODUCT AND SERVICE QUALITY

The delivery of accurate product information on the Internet and timeous

response to customers query are seen as crucial to e-customers. Therefore,

to ensure that customer loyalty is achieved and sustained e-retailers should

present accurate product information on the website regularly. Poor site

management bye-retailers as evident in the survey results shows that e

customers are not satisfied with old data. Overcoming this requires

commitment to content management culture that present a formidable

shopping experience that guarantee customer loyalty. If the e-retailing

opportunity is to be sustainable, profitable and useful to e-eustomers, there

should be more aggressive development and deployment of effective and

efficient e-retail strategy that address the many challenges experienced by

retailers. A disappointing situation can be avoided by ensuring that e-retail

transactions are reliable at all times to avoid the out-of-stock scenario usually

experienced.

5.3 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY

Customer loyalty is a critical component for a successful e-retail business.

This has been evident in the literature review section where most experts

Chapter 5: Recommendations and conclusion Page 71

argue that satisfied customer will remain loyal despite alternative product and

service offers from competitors (Neil, 2002, Brown, 2000, Zikmund, McLeod

and Gilbert, 2003, Graham, 2001 and Van der Wait, 1997). Having loyal

customers suggest that companies can reduce operating costs; get extra

business from referrals (have lower customer-acquisition costs). It can also

lead to increased product penetration; high profit due to initial absorption of

costs and premium pricing opportunities. While these factor amount to real e

retail benefit, they also have limitations in terms of appropriate strategies that

can meet set objectives. This study shows how limited small retailers are in

terms of resources needed to deliver successful retail business operation.

It is argued in chapter two that the reduced product prices and improved

service quality is an incentive that attract customers. Retaining these

customers requires up-to-date product and service information delivered

timely on retail website. The reliance on high quality product and service by

customers are accompanied by expectations of high level satisfaction that

come with such products (Neil, 2002. Graham, 2001 and Brown, 2000).

E-retailing is a formidable tool that is used to keep in touch with customers

more frequently at a cost-effective rate. It is also a management strategy that

can be used by the retailers to keep their customers in check at all times.

Cost saving are realised by managing old customer more than seeking new

market and new market opportunity with Internet (Neil, 2002: 19). The lack of

understanding of customers need and taste can impede the development of

appropriate strategy and improvement in the retail business operation

becomes a costly exercise. This is why the researcher employs the survey

method to understand the unique challenges facing e-retailers, study the

strength and analyse these against the opportunities of e-retailing.

Chapter 5: Recommendations and conclusion

5.4 IMPROVED MARKET SHARE AND PROFITABILITY

Page 72

Improved e-retail technique for products and services enhances the

possibility of the business gaining market share and increased profit.

Displaying products in three-dimensional view using technologies such as

immersive video or virtual reality further enhances the functionality of an e

retail site. The enhanced website enables customers to interact and

experience products from various dimensions that are suitable to various

market segments. This additional functionality can generate additional

revenue stream for the e-retailer. Improve market share and profitability

resulting from innovative strategy leads to e-retail business success.

Therefore, innovative strategy development that recognises improved

product and service quality are relevant component of this study.

The impact of Internet technology on strategy development and deployment

are useful determinant of customer loyalty. Customers will now have the

leverage of understanding offers of quality product and services before

making purchase decision. The survey of e-customers shows high customer

preference for e-retailers to expand range of products and services. These

features are important factors for customers who rely heavily on useful and

reliable product and service information for decision making purpose.

Maintaining and increasing market share now requires that information

management competency of the e-retailers are critical success factors.

Other suggestion and expectations of e-customer emerging from the survey

are:

• to expand availability of products

• to improve security and privacy

• to improve ease of use of the website

Chapter 5: Recommendations and conclusion Page 73

Good e-retail sites should address the above concerns and provide

necessary assurance to customers to guarantee repeat purchase. The

technologies necessary to perform these tasks are available today.

Therefore attracting new customers and retaining old ones should lead to

increased profitability. From survey data three of the e-retail business

respondents acknowledged the many problems of e-retailing. Overcoming

these problems requires adequate understanding of customers needs and

developing innovative strategy to satisfy them.

While the impact of Internet technology on retail business is positive the many

challenges of ensuring customer loyalty remain a strategic issue. Further

research that investigates the impact of management strategy on e-retail

business operation is recommended. The objectives set out in this study is to

understand the impact of Internet technology on e-retailing and how this

understanding can be used to develop and deploy solutions that improves the

quality of products and services. It is also imperative from this that increases

in market share and profit will result from sustained customer loyalty.

References

REFERENCES

Page 74

Alba, J., Lynch, J., Weitz, B., Janiszewski, C., Lutz, R., Sawyer, A., Wood, S.1997. Interactive home shopping and the retail industry. Marketing ScienceInstitute Report Summary, 97-105.

Adelaar, T., Bouwman, H. & Steinfield, C. 2004. Enhancing customer valuethrough c1ick-and-mortar e-commerce: implications for geographical marketreach and customer type. Telematics and Informatics, 21: 167-182, June 11.

Anderson, R.E. & Srinivasan, S.S. 2003. E-satisfaction and e-Ioyalty: acontingency framework. Psychology and Marketing, 20(2):123-138.

Agrawal, D.P., Andrews, A., Kabiraj, S. & Singh, D. 2002. Strategies andmodels for e-retailing: Attempted retrospection in the Indian context.http://blake.montclair.edu/-cibconf/conferenceIDATAlTheme7/lndian1.pdf[23 September 2004].

Barton, D. 1999. E-commerce: moving beyond fulfilment. Brandweek,40(11 ):34:51-56.

Berry, L.L. 1995. On Great Service. Comell Hotel and Restaurant Quarterly:14-19, November.

Berry, L.L. & Parasuraman, A. 1991. Marketing Services: CompetingThrough Quality. The Free Press, New York.

Biobaku, M. 2005. Interview with the author on 23 March 2005, Cape Town.[Cassette recording in possession of the authorJ.

Birch, A.J.,Gerbert, P & Schneider, G.P. 2000. The age of e-tailhttp://wwwtheantidote.co.uk[5 February 2004].

Brown, SA 2000. Customer Relationship Management: a strategicimperative in the world of e-business. Toronto, Ont.: Wiley.

Browne, M., Alien, J. & Anderson, S., Jackson, M. 2001. University of Freighttransportation Association: Overview of home deliveries in the UK: October

References Page 75

Buderi, R. 2005. E-commerce Gets Smarter.http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/04/issue/feature_ecommerce.asp?trk=nl[4 August 2005].Burt, S. & Sparks, L. 2003. E-commerce and the retail process: a review.Joumal of Retailing and Consumer services, 10:275-286.

Bytheway A J. 1995. Information in the supply chain: measuring supplychain performance. Cranfield School of Management (UK), Working Paper,195.

Chittaro, L & Scagnetto, I. 2001. Is semi transparency useful for navigatingvirtual environments?http://hcilab.uniud.ittpublications/200106/SemitransparencyVirtualEnvironments_VRST01.pdf[24 March 2004].

Cunningham, M. 2000. Smart things to know about e-commerce. OxfordUnited Kingdom: Capstone Publishing.

De Borchgrave, A., Cilluffo, F.J., Cardash, S.L. & Ledgerwood, M.M. 2000.Cyber Threats and information security meeting the 21st century challenge.http://www.911investigations.nettIMG/pdf/doc-342.pdf?PHPSESSID=38a36d8a65dee5ab8a11bcfc7f77a81 a[9 February 2005].

Dennis, C., Harris, L. & Sandhu B. 2002. From bricks to clicks:understanding the consumer. Qualitative Market Research: An InternationalJournal, 5(4):281±290.

Deng & Dart, 1994. Measuring market orientation: a multi-factor multi-itemapproach. Journal ofMarketing Management, (10):725-42.

Denscombe, M. 2003. The good research guide, for small-scale researchod

projects. 2 ed. Buckingham: Open University Press.

The Economist. 2004. Unlimited Opportunities? The Internet offers hugescope for both business and leisure, but security urgently needs to beimproved.http://www.cfo.com/printable/article.cfm/3013843?f=options[26 June 2005].

References Page 76

Fisher, M. 2000. Using e-commerce to deliver high productivity. Work Study,49(2):59-62.

Foster, B.D & Cadogan, J.w. 2000. Relationship selling and customer loyalty:an empirical investigation. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 8(4):185-199.

Goldstuck report: Online retail in South Africa. 2004. Johannesburg: WorldWideWorx.

Gordon, L.A., Loeb, M.P., Lucyshyn, W. & Richardson, R. 2005. CSI/FBIComputer crime and security survey.http://i.cmpnet.com/gocsi/db_arealpdfs/fbi/FBI2005.pdf[21 July 2005].

Gosh, S. 1998. Making business sense of the Internet. Harvard BusinessReview: 126-35, MarchlApril.

Graham, J. 1999. Personalized service is now the norm. The AmericanSalesman: 8-14, February.

Graham, R.P,. 2001. Customer Relationship Management: how to turn agood business into a great one!. London: Hawksmere.

Internet world statistics - Usage and population statistics: The big picture.2005http://www.lntemetworldstats.com/stats.htm[6 February 2005].

Jackson, P. & Hams, L. 2002. E-business and organizational change:Reconciling traditional values with business transformation. Journal ofOrganizational Change Management, 16(5):497-511.

Kandampully, J. 1997. Firms should give loyalty before they can expect itfrom customers. Managing Service Quality, 7(2):92-94.

Kandampully, J. 2000. The Impact of demand fluctuation on the quality ofservices: a tourism Industry example. Managing Service Quality, 10(1)10-18.

Kleijnen, M., Ruyter, K. & Wetzels, M. 2001. Customer adoption of e-service:an experimental study. International Journal of Service IndustryManagement, 1(2):184-207.

References Page 77

Kolesar, M.B. & Galbraith, R.W. 2000. Services marketing perspective on eretailing: implications for e-retailers and directions for further research.Internet Research: Electronic Networking Application and Policy, 10(5):42438.

Koprowski, G. 2000. Computer-telephone integration aids customer service:upgraded infrastructure helps companies improve response times.Information week, 792(26):190-5, June.

La, K.V. & Kandampully, J. 2002. Electronic retailing and distribution ofservices: cyber intermediaries that serve customers and service providersmanaging service. 12(2):100±116.

Lawrence, E. 2005. Interview with the author on 23 February 2005, CapeTown.[Cassette recording in possession of author].

Lee, G.G. & Lin, H.F. 2005. Customer perceptions of e-service quality inonline shopping International. Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,33(2):161-176

Levy, R. & Nilson, S. 1999. Who's minding the online shop? TargetMarketing, 22(10):192-4.

Lindquist, J.D. & Scarborough, K.C. 2002. E-shopping in a multiple channelenvironment. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 19(4):333-350.

Liu, C. & Amett, K.P. 2000. Exploring the factors associated with websitesuccess in the context of electronic commerce. Information & Management,38(1):23-33.

Mathwick, C. 2002. Understanding the online consumer: a typology of onlinerelational norms and behaviour. Journal of Interactive Marketing,16(1):40-55.

Mellahi, K. & Johnson, M. 2000. Does it pay to be a first-mover in ecommerce? The case of Amazon.com. Management Decision, 38(7):445452.

McCrohan, K.F. 2003. Facing the threats to electronic commerce. Journal ofBusiness and Industrial Marketing, 18(2):133-145, March.

References Page 78

Monczka, R.M. & Morgan, J.P. 2000. Competitive supply strategies for the21st century. Purchasing: 48-59, January.

Neil, R.J. 2002. Customer Relationship Management. Canterbury: FinancialWorld Pub.

Newell, F. 2000. Loyalty.com: Customer Relationship Management in theNew Era of Internet Marketing. McGraw-HiII: New York.Nicholls, A & Watson, A. 2005. Implementing e-value strategies in UKretailing International. Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,33(6):426-443.

O'Cass, A. 2000a. An assessment of consumers product, purchase decision,advertising and consumption involvement in fashion clothing. Journal ofEconomic Psychology, (21 ):545-76.

O'Cass, A. 2000b. A psychometric evaluation of a revised version of theLennox and Wolfe revised self-monitoring scale. Psychology & Marketing,17(5):397-419.

Patel, Y. 2005. Interview with the author on 17 March 2005, Cape Town.[Cassette recording in possession of author].

Payne, J.E. 2003. E-commerce readiness for SMEs in developing countries:A guide for development professionals.http://learnlink.aed.org/Publications/Concept_Papers/ecommerce_readiness.pdf[16 July 2005].

Porter, M. 2001. Strategy and the Internet. HaNard Business Review: 62-78,March.

Provost, F. 2000. Information technology and electronic commerce.http://www.stern.nyu.edulfprovost[12 August 2004].

Rayport, J.F.& Jaworski, B.J. 2001. e-Commerce. Irwin McGraw-HiII, 2001.

Rayport, J.F. & Sviokla, J.J. 1994. Managing in the marketspace. HaNardBusiness Review, 25(4):141-50.

References Page 79

Reichheld, F.F., Markey, R.G. Jr, Hopton, C. 2000. E-customer loyaltyapplying the traditional rules of business for online success. EuropeanBusiness Journal, 12(4):173-179.

Reichheld, F.F & Schefter, P. 2000. E-Ioyalty: your secret weapon on theweb. Harvard Business Review, 78(4):105-113.

Rose, G., Khoo, H. & Straub, D W. 1999. Current technological impedimentsto business-to-consumer electronic commerce. Communications ofAssociation for Information Systems, 16(1), June

Rowley, J. 1996. Retailing and shopping on the Internet. International Journalof Retail & Distribution Management, 24(3):26-37.

Ryan, G & Valverde, M. 2003. Waiting online: a review and research agenda.Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, 13(3):195205.

Seiders, K., Berry, L.L. & Gresham, L.G. 2000. Attention, retailers! Howconvenient is your convenience strategy?, Sloan Management Review,41(3):79-89.

Seybold, P.B. & Marshak, R.T. 1998. Customers.com: how to create aprofitable business strategy for the Internet and beyond. New York: TimesBusiness Random House.

Shergill, G.S. & Chen, Z. 2003. Web-based shopping: consumers' attitudestowards online shopping in New Zealand. Journal of Electronic CommerceResearch, 6(2):79.

Siege), D. 2000. Futurize your enterprise: business strategy in the age of thee-customer. Wiley: New York.

Smith, A.K., Bolton, R.N. 2002. The effect of customers' emotional responsesto service failures on their recovery effort evaluations and satisfactionjudgments. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30:5-23. January,

South Africa Department of trade and Industry. 2002. E-commerce impactstudy: retail overview. Compiled by PriceWaterHouseCoopers.

Stroud, D. 1998. Internet Strategies: A Corporate Guide to Exploiting theInternet. Macmillan: Basingstoke.

References Page 80

Sweet, P. 2001. Strategic value configuration logics and the new economy: aservice economy revolution? International Journal of Service IndustryManagement, 12(1):70-83.

Tam, J.M., Razi, MA, Wen, H.J & Perez, AA Jr. 2003. E-fulfillment: thestrategy and operational requirements. Logistics Information Management,16(5):350-362.

Tractinsky, N. & Rao, V.S. 2001. Incorporating social dimensions in webstore design. Human Systems Management, 20(2):105-21.

United Nations Community on Trade and Development. 2002. Developingworld looks to e-business for growth, November 18.

Van der Merwe, R. & Bekker, J. 2003. A Framework and methodology forevaluating e-commerce Web sites. Internet Research: Electronic NetworkingApplications and Policy, 13(5):330-341, October.

Van der Wait, P.D. 1997. Customer Retention through a relationshipmarketing strategy. Study Project (MBA): University of Stellenbosch.

Walsh, J. & Godfrey S. 2000. The Internet: a new era in customer service.European Management Journal, 18(1):85-92, February.

Whysall, P. 2000. Retailing and the Internet: a review of ethical issues.International Journal ofRetail & Distribution Management, 28(11 ):481 ±489.

Windham, L. & Orton, K. 2000. The soul of the new consumer. New York:Allworth Press.

Wolfinbarger, M. & Gilly, M.C. 2001. Shopping online for freedom, control,and fun. California Management Review, 43(2)34-55.

Zaichkowsky, J.L.1985. Measuring the involvement construct. Journal ofConsumer Research, 12(3):341-52.

Zemke, R., Connellan, T. 2001. E-service. New York: AMACOM.

Zikmund, W.G, McLeod, R. Jr., & Gilbert, F.G. 2003. Customer RelationshipManagement: Integrating Marketing Strategy and Information Technology.Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

::g :~- .,;;..:-...:~,~-

~'- - - - ."::-- - --

-~-:: -:c' -----~:_7--_=_;"-.:---

.~~~:{~~-~ ~-

~~~~--= ----"'-- -_-:~~~~----

...;..=~~-:- - - --

- --- - -----~-

Appendix A

CAPE PENINSULAUNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Professor Andy B)1hewayHead: Research and Development Projects

Faculty ofBusiness InfonnaticsEmail: [email protected]

Cell: +27828899771Direct: +27 21 460 3152

e-Commerce Research at CPUT

23 March 2005

Dear sir/madam

Do you sometimes wonder what all the e-Gommerce fuss is about? We have heard a great dealabout it over the last few years, and some of us are wondering whether the excitement was justified.

In fact. given some years of experience, it is now time to take stock of early experience and learn thelessons of success and failure. Nowhere is this more true than in the general area of retailing, and therelationship between retailers and their customers. As part of a wider programme of research activityinto e-Commerce, at CPUT we are looking at this specific question through research that is being led

. by Lucy Nwoffiah. Lucy is a promising young member of the Faculty of Business Informatics, and I amwriting to ask for your assistance in helping her gather information about your experiences with eCommerce.

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology, formed by the merger of Cape Technikon andPeninsula Technikon, is committed to undertaking research that is relevant, practical and useful. Aswe move to University status we are investing heavily in research capability and I hope you will enjoyhelping us as we take up this challenge. Lucy will of course treat all that you tell her as confidential,and there will be an opportunity to share the results of the work.

The formal objectives of the study are as follows;

• To develop an overview of e-retailing business.

• To analyse some eXisting e-retail businesses and describe the challenges presented byInternet technology.

• To examine the success and failure of some e-retail businesses with examples.

• To understand the consumer behaviour when purchasing goods and services from theInternet.

• To analyse the benefits consumers derive from purchasing goods and service from theInternet.

• To survey the Intemet technologies used in e-retailing and examine their capabilities to attractconsumers

If you have any questions at all about her work, or if you would like to hear more about our rapidlydeveloping portfolio of research work, do feel free to contact me directly.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. There is a great future for businesses that take theright decisions and make the right moves; we look forward to sharing our new understanding of thesethings as our work moves forward.,

Thank you,

.-

Appendix B

Thank you for participating in thi$ sUlVey. It will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Your contribution is important.

E-COMMERCE: THE IMPACT OF INTERNET TECHNOLOGY ON RETAILING. [INTERNET CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE].

(Please tick the appropriate box)

1. Please indicate your gender.

@Male

o Female

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••2. select your age bracket.

o less than 18 years

[EJ 18 to 30

031 t04S

o 46 to 60

o more than 60 years

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••3. What is your occupation?

o Student

o Manual worker

o Office worker

o Professional

o Entertainment/performer

o Home duties

o Unemployed

o Retired

Eil other, please specify

4. Where do you live?

[3 In a major city

o in a city

o In a town or village

o In the country

o other, please specify

1_------••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••5. What is your approximate monthly income? (All in South African

R)

o less than 2 000

02000-6000

o 6001 - 10 000

@ 10 001 - 14 000

o 14001 - 18000

o 18001 - 22 000

o 22 001 - 26 000

o more than 26 000

• • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • ••••• ••• •• ••• •6. What is your highest qualification obtained?

o High school certificate/college

o Diploma

rE Degree

1

o Honours

o Masters

o Doctorate

o other, please specJfy


IL.- I••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••10. How much tIme do you allocate to accessing the Internet In

these places? (tick the appropriate number)

IL..- l••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

1 2 3 4 5 60 10- 20· 40- 60- 80

under 10 % under 20 % under 40 % under 60 % underBO % under 100 %

7. Have you ever used the Internet?

~yes NoDHomeI 1 -g 1_....:3=--- ..:.4__ <---=5,,--__---:6=---_

If YES. please continue, If NO. thank you for your contribution.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Friends homeI 1 I 2 3 4 5 6

Public buildin~"-,-"e"'.g'--'.-=Ii~b!.!ra!.!.ryL.r__-=--_-r__""7"__r-_-=-_-r__;:-__IlL 2 I 3 4 5 6

School, college or unIversItyI 1 1..._..::2'--_.l...L__--:<-3_...J-_...;;:..4_----'-_--'5'-- -=-6_~

Your work plarce=---,::-__ ,---::----,---""7--__-=-_-,-_",-=--;:;--::;:=I 1 1L..._!:.-2_ ,---=--3_--'--_4'---__---"5'---1-~:>62:;=~1

11. What mode of access do you use to access the Internet?more than one, ifapplicable)

E3l LAN (Local Area Network)

I2SJ Dial-Up (e.g, telephone Land line)

o ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)

o 3G (Third Generation connection)

o Wi-fi (Wireless Fidelity, e.g. duai-band)

o ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks)

6

(tick

54Commercial service, e.g, Internet cafeI 1 I 2 I 3

• • • • • • • • • •• • • • •• • •• • •••••• •• • •

(tick as

8. How many times do you USe the Internet?

o never

o once a day

GJ many times a day

o once a week

o many times in a week

o once a month

o many times a month

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •9 What factors affect your decision to use the Internet?

many as possible).

o work

[ill studies

El fun

GJ communication

l2SI convenient means of shopping

?

I@ other, please specify

I GfR\ «<..\\P_ho_""...:.) _••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••12. When was the flrSt time you used the Internet?

o today

o last week

o this week

o last month

o 1 to 3 months ago

[8j more than 4 months ago

o ever since Its Inception

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••13. Indicate when you make a purchase(s) from the Internet or use

the servlce(s) on the Internet. (tick more than one, ifapplicable).

GroceriesbI 1 I 2 3

Domestic & kitchen e1uipment.¥::S3112

Ticket(s)II 1 % 3 4

Building materialsII 1 2 3 I 4><:::

Toys4><:;I 1 2 3 I I

Gift packI 1 2 Xl I 4 I

Garden productsI 1 2 3 Ri I

Arts & crafts

k'\ II 1 2 3

Plants & flowersII 1 2 'Xi 4

Clothing4>s)I 1 2 3 I

Property4><:\ II 1 2 3

Vehicles1 2 3 1><:; I

News ,

In. 2 3 4

BankingK 2 3 4 I

Financial/insurance servicesI 1 I 2 3 Xj

Other, please specify

I• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • •

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

If NO, thank mu for your contribution

I I15. Do you recommend e-commerce activities for businesses?

IiSl Yes No 0

o 5 to under 10 years

o 10 years or more

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••18. Why do you choose this e-commerce webslte? (tIck as many

answers as possIble).

measy navigation

ill good content management

rn prodUct satisfaction

Ea availability of onllne order status tracking

[2] timeous delivery of goods and services

o retums and exchange process satisfaction

129 availability of potential products and services

S good prodUct description

12§ trust and credibility

o availability of online technical support/help

I:2SL security of personal and credit card details

[81 ability to do comparison shopping

Iil number and variety of products availability

o lower prices than in traditional channels

o ability to link to other websites with related information

129 speed of process

D ability to link to search engines

I:B ability to have sales experience tailored towards needs

o ability to share information with other onllne visitors

1. I(') 0.re6 ..... " v\u 'i . (" o· "Z- "

2. k"'\,,\... ...v-,·, ", ...1-3. ~ '\( .. ,."r ~.\-u;:: ..<C.<.. '\

14. What Islare your reason(s) for using the Internet? (tick morethan one, If applicable).

@shoPPlng

o read news

rn lefsure{fun

~work

(is! studies

[Cl communication

El other, please spedfy

16. Is there an e-commerce business that you recommend tofriends, colleagues, e-consumers, etc?

I@ves No 0If YES, please specify:

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••17. How long have you been a customer to ONE of the above

mentioned e-COmmerce business(es)? (Indicate with a numberto specify the particularbusiness), W

D 2-less than 1 year

o 1 to under 3 years

I!I 3 to under 5 years

4


l~ ~ --JI•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

19. How did you know about this webslte?

o search engine

o recommended by a friend/colleague

!El prior knowledge of the company

o advertisement on another webslte

o link from another webslte

o this is the website my company uses for services/purchases

o word of mouth


, ----JI•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••20. What was your Intention for visiting this site?

o general interest in browsing

o comparing prices

[1J purchase a specific product

o make an order

D utilise the online service. e,g. banking, news etc

o finding information for a product or service

o research


•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

5

21. How easy was it to make a purchase or use the service on this'site?

139 easy

o very easy

o difficult

o very difficult

o neither easy nor difficult

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••22. Are you satisfied with the website used?

[29 satisfied

o very satisfied

o dissatisfied

o very dissatisfied

o neither satisfied nor dissatisfied•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••23. Would you use the same website in future?

[23 definitely

o probably

o probably not

o definitely not

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •24. Would you recommend this company to a friend, relative or

colleague?

rtI definitely

o possibly

o probably not

o definitely not

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Thank youl Your conlribution is greally appreciated.

25. Do you have animproved? (t' y suggestions on h thEa ck asmanyasPOSSib~ e websites could be

expand range of products •

o expand availability of products

o Improve .I2SJ provisions for security and privacy

reduce high costo of total purchase

o Improve ease of use of the site

easy finding the site

o simplify findln

Og your way around d'an site

simplify completing the p ho urc ase procedures

provide more detail bD. s a out productslservlces

mproVide more details about delivery

reduce cost of delivery

o Improveo speed of loading

other, please specify1===2------====,

6la 4Ji@P·_;_L.A

AppendiX I",18·30 20 40%

31·45 19 38%

46·60- 9 18%

more than 60 years 2 4%

T..,cd 50 100%

'.

3.What Is your main occupation?NII.bar'" ".,p....ft••"....,.. ""'"

Studenl- g 18%

Manual worker 0 0%

Office worker - 6 12%

Professional 35 70%

Entertainer/performer 0 0%

Home duties 0 Oo/~

Unemployed 0 0%

Retired 0 0%

fJl'.l3Other. Please

1 2%Specify

\. .-,

("

4.Where do you live? "_of ".~oe'..n,.......In a major city 27 54%

In a city 16 32%

In atown or village - 7 14%

In the country 0 0%

~other, Please

0 0%Specify

,-, 50 100%

," What Is your approximate income monthly

5.income? (amount in South African R or US $)Nu-to- of Il,,,"'p.....,,R,"p"M~ Antio

less than 2 000 - 6 12%

2000·6000· 4 8%

6001 -10000 - 9 18%

, <.,. ""-"" "'~lNCW[l,onu pot+IIU"

~"--'''''.. 50~~......-.~O

Go to IndiYldualCompleteRe.pons85:

rJ Show respondent'semaifs..

........,..., "eA:::'ItUpoN"

23 46%

27 54%

llOt.1 50 100%.',

-----Nil....... ", "'':='flupoft''''

0 0%

UL'ldlDalti OMW2:005· 2:34 PM

ModilledDlIe

CIDM 08.

E1NH 1mI.... •..... "....... •ComplBl... ..

E·COMMERCE:THE IMPACT OFINTERNET TECHNOLOGY ONRETAILING (INTERNETCUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE)finalReport created on: 08 August 2005 13:46:00

Survey Results (I••,......., ......)

i.Are you a male or female?

. Male

Female -----_

The results of your survey are displayed below. Ifyoursurvey Includes text responses. click lhe "VIew" buttonto read Individual results. To exclude a particularresponse. cUck the Included Responses button. You canthen view the set of Individual responses: that arecurrently Included and select those you wish to exclude.Results below contain only InclUded responses

Responses: ~. Completes only r, Partials only r, Compleles & Partials

/ •.•.._--_._---_ _--_.._--------2.Select your age bracket

less than 18 years

$ t. 1, !SA ;;

10001-14000 18 36% many times a month - 7 14%

14001-18000- 9 18% T"'" 50 100%

18001· 22 000 2 4%

22 001 - 28 000 1 2% What factors affect your decision 10 acceSs Ihemore than 26 000 1 2% 9.lnlemet? (Tick as many as possible).

......10... 0# " ••p................... .~..T.... 50 100% Work 47 94%

,- Studies 31 62%

( \ Fun 64%6.Whalis your highesl qualification obtained?

......... ~,::.32

"-High school • Communtcatlon 43 86%

3 6%certificate/college Convenient means of

DlpJoma- shopping18 36%

6 12%

Degree 21 42% - Other, Please1 2%

SpecifyHonours- 10 20% ,

".J

Masters_ 9 18% (

Doctorate 1 ,2% >' Whal proportion of your lime do you allocate to accessing the

Other, Please1D.lnternet from these places? (Tick the appropriate number).

a Spedfy 0 0%,. 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 9 10

::::::I::t:~=::::" 0- 10- 20- 40- 50- 60- 70- 80- 90 .. 100%

T.... 50 100% =:~,::;'~:--oI~ 9% 19% 39% 49% 59% 69% 79% 89% 99%

'- ., 38% 14% 16% 10% 14%4% 0% 0% 4% 0%

( , 1. Home 2 0 0 2 0Have you ever made use of the Iniemel? (If YES, 19 7 8 5 7

please continue. If NO, thank you for your 98% 2% 0% 0%, 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%7.contribution). ........ ,,-;c=-"""'M 2. Friends home 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Ves 50 100%49

No 3. School, college or 62% 4%10% 4% 8% 2% 2% 2% 2% 4%

0 0%university 2 2 4 1 1 1 2

T...I 50 100% 31 5\. 10% 10% 14°/0 26%

4% B% 4% 6% 6% 12%r 4. Your work place 4 2 3 3 6

8. How many times do you use the Intemet? .......... A-m.:"- 2 5 5 7 13.......H

never 0 0% 5. Public building, e.g 90% 6% 4% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

once a day. 4 6% library 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 045

many times a day 22 44% 6. CommercIal seTVice. e.g. 70% 12°/u 6% 4% 2% 4% 0% QUID 2% C'lf"

once a week 2 4% Intemet cate 3 2 2 0 0 035 6

many times aweek 15 30%

once a month ---"--'--- ·_._---~._-

._-_.~~,

0 0% What mode of aCCeSs do you use to aCCeSS the

\ 11.intemel? (TIck more than one, ifapplicable)......... o-.::=- 2. computer software 4 2 . 12 32

"0-,.....

LAN (local Area 12% 4% 28% 56%

Network)46 92% 3. bookslmagazlneslnewspaper 6 2 14 28

DJaI.lJp (ag. 42"10 8% 8% 42%

telephone Land line)34 68% 4. news 21 4 4 21

AOSL (AsymmetIlc ("220/. 8% 26% 44%

Olgllal SubscIlber 13 26% 5. travel '4"~ 4 13 22

Une) 6. music & video (CO's, OVO's, 16% 4% 30% 50%

ISOi'l (lnlegtated audio) 6 2 15 25Services DlgllJal • 4 6%

0'1. 4% 12% 64%Networks) 7. games 0 2 6 42

3G (ThIrd Genelallon1 2% 2% 0% 12% 86%

connecIlon) 6. food 1 0 6 43WlA (WIreless

2% 0% 6% 92%Fldellly. e.g. dual.. _ 7 14%band)

9. groceries 1 0 3 46

Other. Please 10. domesUc & kIIchen 0% 0% 2% 98%

a Specify 2 4% equipment 0 0 1 49

\. -' 0% 0% 0% 100%

r , 11. garden products 0 0 0 50

12.When was the first time you used the Intemel?........

"~ 96%-,..... 0% 0% 4%

today 2 4% 12. plants & floweno 0 0 2 46

this week 0 0% 2%" 0% 0% 98%13. clothing 1 0 0 49

!as/week 0 0%24% 2% 20% 54%

1 ~ 3 months ago 2 4% 14. tickets 12 1 10 27

more than 4 months 0% 0'.4 2% 98%30 60%ago 15. bUilding materials 0 0 1 49

ever since Its 0% 0% 2% 98%

inception16 32% 16. toys 490 0 1

Tot.l 50 100% 10% 0% B% 82%,, .' .' 17. giH packs 5 0 4 41

4% 0% 4% 92%Indicate when you make a purchase(s) from the Internet or use 1B. properties 2 0 2 46

13.the service(s) on the Intemet.(tick more than one, if applicable)0% 0% 0%, 100%

1 2 3 4 19. arts & craHs 0 0 0 50Anytlme Evening OCcasionally Never 92%

~indlc.l"'ot. durtngthe 4% 0% 4%/1nl ,....; "'bDltom~ time

,..,.,..~~---"'~ week 20. vehicles 2 0 2 46nS",llnu ItN llptl""

1. compuler hardware8°/0 2% 10% 80% 56% 10'/, 2% 32%

4 1 5 40 21. banking 28 5 16

8% 4% 24% 64%

."'..

4% 8% 24% 64% 3 to under 5 yeers 20 40%22. financial servlcesllnsuranoo 2 4 12 32 5 to under 10 years • 4 8%\.

10 years or more 0 0%

What Is/are your reason(s) for using the Intemel? ,_I 50 100%

14.{Tlck more than one, if applicable)........ ~~.....- .'

shopping 13 27% \

read news 3Z 65%Why have you chosen this e-eommerce website?

1 e rtlck as many answers as possible)"'-t....... ft4"o,.eAe.,-.. ft_,..

lelsureJfun 33 67% easy navigation 36 72%

wor!< 44 90% value added content 21 42%

studies 29 59%purposeful Information 18 36%

communication 40 82% product levelOther, Please satisfaction

17 34%- Specify •3 6%

\. ..IavallabJIIly of ollllne

14 28%order stalus Iracklng

r \

Do you recommend e-commerce activities for timeliness of delivery 26 56%

15.businesses?_of "-.:::"......... customer seMce

Ves process satisfaction15 30%'

46 92%

No· 4 6% retum~ and exchange .. 5 10%

50 100%. process satisfaction,- Interest In new

\. " potential products and 19 38%r services

Is there an e-commerce business !tiat yourecommend to friends, colleagues, e-consumers,

avallabJIIly of potential23 46%

etc? If YES, please specify. If NO, thank you for products and servloos

16.your contribution. N_Hr" "·i\U:- How well prodUcts......." and their use are 17 34%Ves 34 68% described

No 16 32% trust and credibility 16 32%

Total 50 100% availability of online • 3 6%

Clrl:I 29 Responsestechnical support/help

'" ..Ioverall security of

personal and credit 13 26%

How long have you been a cuslomer to ONE ofcard details

Ihe slated e-commerce business(es)? [Indicateability to do _

10 20%11.wilh a number to specify the particular business], N...llvOf R••p_• comparison shopping

• n ...... "lOtio

less than 1 year - 7number and variety of

10 20%14% products availability -1 10 under 3 years 19 38%

lower prices than In -

10 20%What was your Intention when you visited this _..

Il...._.traditional channels 20.slte? (TIck more than one, If applicable). R41"pIIftA.. ".tloability to link to ou.... generallnleraslln _

11 22%websttes with related _ 6 12%browsingInformallon

comparlng prlces • 3 6%overall speed of _12 24% purchase a specfllcprocess 16 32'10

abJlity 10 JJnk 10 search productanginas orou.... _

6 12% purchase a product0 0%webslles with related but not sure which

Information oneoverall speed of _

6 12% make an order 1 2%process

utilise the onllneability 10 have salesservice. e.g banking. 14 28%experlence tallore<! • 4 8%

newsetctowards needs

ability to share finding InformaUon for • 4 8%InformaUon with other 1 2% a prodUct or service ,

onllno vlsltonl research 1 2%

g Other. Please1 2% Other. Please

0 0%SpecifY a Specify\. " 100%'-' 50( ,

\.19.How did you know about this webslie?_.. .....:;.:---search engine _ 12 24% How easy was it to make a purchase from or use .......... R•.:::=•recommended by a _ 21.the service on this site? .........

11 22%friend/colleagueeasy 36 80%

prior knowledge of the _8 16% veryeasy- 8 18%

company0 0%)advertisement on dlfficulI

another webslte 2 4%very dlfficull 0 0%

link from another2 4% neither easy nor

2%webslte difficultthis Is the websil. my

Mol 45 100°/0company uses for 0 0%

"services/purchases ,word of mouth _ 12 24% 22.Are you stisfied with the website used?

H~* ..t R.e~t:I:'".........OIh.r, Please • satisfied 37 82%- 3 6%Specify

very satisfied - 7 16%Totod 50 100%

0%.i dissatisfied 0

dlssallsfied 0 0%

very dlssaUsfIed 0 0% Ihe purchase _ 5 10%

neither satisfied norptoeedures

dissaUsfied 1 2% provide more detailsabout_ 12 24%

''''' 45 100% products/servicesprovide more details .. 5 10%

\ about deilvery23.Would you use the same webslte In future?

_....."'0::::"........

reduce cosl of delivery - 6 12%definitely 40 93%

improve speed of _probebly. 3 7% 11 22%

loadIng

probably nol 0 0% other. Please _6 12%-definnely nol 0 0% Specify

.,-..1 43 l00"k.',

I ..Would you recommend this company to a friend,

24.relative orcolleague? -..... "'ol:::".........definnely 40 91%

possibly. 3 7%

probably not 1 2%

definitely not 0 0% •

''''' 44 100%I.. .J

I ..Do you have any suggestions on how the site

25.could be Improved? (Tick as many as possible)•1II___of

""'::::-.........expand range of

23 46%productsexpand availab/lily of _

6 12%productsimprove provisions of

20%- 10security and privacy

reduce high cost of _5 10%total purchase

improve ease of use _10 20%of the site

easy finding of the _B 16%webslte

simplify completing

[....._. _.- . ..._._._--_.._••...••.__ , .\~.~~!~~ _. " __..__.._ w·w_ ••_ ..

enlerlelnm.nl

Uckels

. ._.__. • .M.

art.nd cfllfl":.:::.:::::.::::.::-::.-._._-----._-...:==.:::::=::=::::::::.---.=:.---...::"-----=--=.::.__._-----_.

._r.'~.'. ','

"""""==E-commerce: The Impacl of Inlernellechnology on relalllng. lE-RETAILERS'QUESTIONNAIRE)

Survey Results (Ift.ludod Ro.poft...)

You BIll currently ~11llI 'UMIY rnulll bll Individual I'ttlpondenta. You may page IhrotJllh rupond.nl. b~ dltJ\\rIg Ihtll,,1I\\I bUllo""balow. ot lo Ylaw • .".clflc retponds"l'. _ware, Iypa In • numbw .nd dk:k Get.

hat Is the name of oUt corn nOflkl Theatllr

'~/}1'110ur e.r~tall slle offers varIety 10 your customers. _I,:::::""'========-1\:~4~~~atlypeof functionality dO;:-:~;:::~:::;e 10 Identify whom YOU;~~-:l:':::;;---'Nawllellaf

Onllne reglstraUon.-._._...._-----==================-_::====-::em 10 ees do ou have?

hat Is the educallonallevel of most of ur em 10 ees?

has oUt company been In business?

ercelve ur online securl measures as

,i~~~~ are ~~u laroetlno with your onUne shoo?Credll ~.rd holdell

Studenls

Working clon IndiVidual,

._------._------ ._-_._--------------------_._-----_.-..

:.:H"O"Wcl"o"n",h",",,,,o"u"OcOocm~Pea~n~y,-,,baea,n,,-,,ln'-"'th"aCae-o'eale.""cboue'"ln"'"'"'"? 18·10YllBIS

hat do

Online orders IInd order planning

Order slows

Producl-level sallstactlon-----1Does 'p~~~.ve an existing traditional shop?

"'1.)11, ~.'

\, )" hat Is the effect of a-totellln on our corn an's traditional sho ?

.H_· ......__·_..••_.__.. __·_,,_ ......_ .•. •._ ...."...Tim81~ delivery 1

..9.~_S.I?~~~,,~~.':'.~~~.£~~C,~~!.,~!~I~·~~~~·I_ .._.._·_,_ ,.~ .

+----j----Repl.nlshment of SUppliers

Payment

Atletules

'(i;;:!ii~RalaIha Imoortanca of onllne ,ele' a"lvlle, 10 ~,or o,~nlzallon? ~~~;!:~'~l!~Jj (~7k~Y:~~~ 1~~ij~:~I~~~ ~:~-~ r

"ri",!: ":'~:':-E~';,~uatomer ,e(Vlce ,cusltmn,r ,aJ.t)l)M' ,loglslles .nd stoclc snd menagtlmenl 1

paymlllnlleetlllllftllnt 1

dsl. p,oc."lng••n.lyll., .tudy ,websne m.lntenanca

,~lte!fonJc IlquJp~nllrnIlJl!en'/le. 1

purchaslr,g - Hit Management ,a¥sllablllly o!sklcll ,

..

i0;Wf;~~tkhat chaftennes do vou lhlnk (ace e-retallers todav?Filsllechnology change

laflgUsge hafrierlleadlng 10 limited expsn!lon In ol/ler wunlrin

_~~:~~~~.'~gulall~sand~:~~~Io~~~~~~assle! _M___·~·_·____·"_· .'.-_.__..,_...,_._-----_.

------

?:. ~:;;i;;·JHOW does your company ensure that these potential benefits are achieved? ~ale according.....:2:.t~Ji~ the order of Importance.

~;'~R;~f~,Ji*~0~h~ij~ ~~~~f4i:~~~1~~t~~~ ,~:!{:'~~~'~~~:4'h~~~~t~Exduslve supplier (eeU popular ltem.111,1_ wslomlzed) 1

Rlghl p"wllaUly 011 our weban••a.~prltsaed In lIulg" and ..s.mbly

F.s! ahlpplng.nd d.lI¥ery

Knowing our cualomer.

Segmenllng our customer gl1)Llp..(could be b...ed.on slyte, IUIrtonaNty,product celegory, popul.rbtandmimes, wat groups, gsography Indmo.e)

Con¥lnlenee (Qul~k Ieee.. to popularproducts 'lid ,llemaIN., 10 tha,.p'''llucla)

M/llkel~" lUMen .ngl", IndltXeIbeing an Important pointer for the nowollr&fflc on our .1111)

PTiorillzlng ourcustomsr .Igtnenla

Filtering In the b(tst cuslomer

;L~17JWhatare the benefits of e-retalllng to your company?SKlerldlng out ~us'omwnlacn

PromoUng our MNlce, 10 • Widef' .udl,nee

Allcwlng keyword based enlry pointslorOLl' sile

VlIlue added conlenl

Knowlnll what ou. ulll<lU, ml.O v,luIproposlllon Is

Knowing our m.rk,t

Wotld wldll ¥Islblllly

Relurn policy

PUfpoUluJ Inlormallon

1'ru~1 and credlblllly

': ':Iow does your company deal with the Issue or competition with rivals In the same sector?Pro¥lde lechnlcalasalslance

.\'r;:li'~6::i 0 what extent are these actlvllIes carried oul on our BMrelall webslte?;"'" " '",'1',.,,, ,:"" ;".... ~t,' ;.",,_ >, "...." " ,'.. '"" 'H', '" '.'.';,: " .•, ,., ".,.

elow Is a list of factors Identified by Ernest and Young as Important to a customer wllenurchaslng on the Inlernet. Rate according 10 the Imporlance In the Implementallon and

eralian of our webslte.

SaeurityQI lending ClIedll~Infu,maUon OVIII the IMI

Eas, 01 nrld~ll)'Olll wa~ "OImd lhe",.o.lllng law"PI~ Infoml.Uon .ndMWOII ptoduoll

How Wll~ producll .rod ltIelr use liedesc,lbtd

Ability ID do eornPtlrl$Olllhopplng

AbIlity 10 Isle ql.ietllonllnd ptanSWllII onIlnso

Nu",bar erod Vlrlety ol products8Yallllble 101' puroha,.

Muchal>dlllnglor911nlllllon ofptoductl at Iha ilia

Atrlllty IQ link Ioolharwaball•• wllbrelated InfonnlUon

Ability 10 heVll ..lel allPtl"_ataltoted I~rdt nNd.

Ablllty 10 the,. Ir,fonnlllllon wilt> oilierorlllna Yllltor'

",:i,.:

1

our com an s ro filon of aales achieved vIa the Internet.

',: ~ .

.~;:

Appendix: E

L~?,,!~.e..:~.._ ..". __. •• ,. , =- -:: -j'..__...~,.".,'._.-._._._-,------ .--./

i~~iIT~~.w.,:~-.a._.t-..~~.I~.·.;::-.'.:;'=-.ta~lngi~corporaled Into your business model?

l!,~::::=~:=:,.,: ......:.,~:: .",'"" ',:_:'..':_:_:'_=======================:::::::::::::::::!

E-commerc.: The Impacl of Inlernellechnology on relalllng. rE-RETAILERS'QUESTIONNAIRE) All "till flllaled prodUCl1 89 what)'<lv. nnd game

You are currefltly vlew!ng survey rlll.l1tl bV llldMdual re.pondents, You may P'I\l8lhroullh "'Ipondllnts by c1lclt(ng the .rrow bullonsblllC1W. or to vi."" I Ip,clOt rllponl!lInl', 8nIW.I'I, lyp,ln. number _od ctk:k Go.

to our customers.

our customers are?hal e of funcuonaUt does our Corn an use to identl

.~:-==.gf.tr81:""=::::==========::::::::====================:!halls the name of our corn an ?

MEGI\.SHOPPE.R

onllne has atlracted more customers (or our corn an •

~n::'kti1HOW many employees do vou have?I... than 2Cl employ•••

ni'Ii",,',," I~l!rili':JA~'JVVhat Is the educatlonallevel of most of vour emolovees?High school diploma:

I our customers ercelve r 00\\0& sewn measures as

, i,

'j How Ion has ur corn an been In busIness?

~j\:~b!lg has your company been In Ihe e·relall business?12:·4Y88(1

hat Is Ihe effect of e·retallln on our corn an's IradlUonal sho 1

)

ho are VOiJ taroetlna wllh vour onllne shoo?Credit clrd holde"

Sludel'll,

Working 01111 IndividUal,

,,-- .__.._.'.. -- -

Ploduel·le~,I'lI.t(a(.eUtll\

OOllne order. end ordef pllnnlng

,

Fist shipping and dell~ery

-.----_..--------1

----_._--

Pro'llaC~C'~~~.• ,~~,~'::~:...':_=.=..:.:.:.====.._=.=_=_=_=_::..::..::..::..::..=..:.:.:=======_=:::._=_=_=7)-P'-'-~Id;t;;cl,~;;;si;t.-~;·-·'··--------·------------------- I

Informing eullom.ra

~eedb.~~?~~~~~~~~~.... ~_"._,. ~~...__.• !__._. ~..l.clJlly ItI ,hal.lnfofmallon wHh tllhe,onllne ~181Iora/cl/,lom.rl

~--"".'----'''-----'-.''-'. -_._-------

,,,,,Il'lr--'-~l~~_~hatextent are these acllvltles ~trled out on

R.pl,nlsllment o'.uppll'rt

R,cel~lroord,r. from eu.lomlltf'

....•.. _- ..•._.. __.._...._-_._.._---.._.-

Con~enlenee (quIck .ec,nlo popul.rPlOdlrot••nd anemoUves \0 Ihollproducl,)

Rlll"l per,on_lIly on our w.bslle It •

• xprlllud In de.lgn.OO '''embly

~~~~ha\are the benefits of e-re\alllna to \lour comoam!?Exl.ndlng our cu'lOmer '.'cl!promollnll 0\11' ,.Nle.. \0 • wId" INd1enc.

IMr..,lng comp.rIY prolll mtrgln

Pro~lolng tu,lomet. wIIll lh. OClnv.n~.nCllof h"lM lIhopplnll

AceenlbUlly or e"rnp.ny 11;1 Cu.l"m.r -- -' . .. . -'-\:-._._...,~.-.~.__. _'''--_.._--,-~,_ ....----

RtllUr~;;;'d-;;;;;g-;;;;;.~--'---T-·-'·M_-------'-----

~~!'~~~--'------'r' ...~~~I~;~ln n~~ po~.n,tiel pfOduct••n~ "

T~I$~~~!""~~~-u.;;;b:.;;~;, .. eo·•••

such IS onllne COl)rlll" 'Yl1em. torlllol~e erltle.l ciktn\lnullI .odo:n.lll'l.g;em.nt .pplH:atloo. I

!~:~~:~:~~~~t.:::.~ .__.;~;_~~_~I_._.~:~~.__=_:'====::::========::':========::!

Knowlnll wh'llXlr I)nlqu. ,.,laU ~1I1l/e

pr(lpo,lIlon I.P.ymenl

Aller ..Iu

Sellm.nllng (llIr cuslom1rllroupI(c(lulll b, bued on .tyle, par,onamy,product c.l.gory, "OPu/1f btllndnom.., "lfr grou,,', ll.o!ilr.phy .ndmOl')

Prlorlllzlng our customer I,gm,nls

M.rkel.ccel' (se,tell engine lodelltlbellllllln Imporl.nl polnt",,,r th,lIoWof lraffic on our lit.,

Allowing keyword b••ed .nlty polnl,10f our lllev~i~;~~;;;;';----'~---'--'''--''-------

':I" ,l'~"j'~'I' ~ Rate the Im

Cl/,tom" IIIrvlcl

cu,lomer rel.llona

10gllllcI alld .lock.od m.".",m.nl

pllym'nVa'lllemMI

dUla "roce'ulnll. ,(I.ly,la, 'IUdy

webalt, m.lnlen.nl:l

.. I,clronlc 'qulpm.nl m,'nllnence

P!JH>oulul~~ ~_ ---------+--,.----.,.,--1---_7--__-1Tru.t IInd c(lldlbUlly

--------.._._------------_.How does OUt com an deal with the Issue of com elltlon with rivals In the samf;l sector?

.~~at chaUenaes do \IOU thInk face e~retaUers today?Improvem,nt In lerm. 01 navlgallon

Opl\mlu dellv.ry .nd Inventory-

Incrnu proc'5' ,flk:krncy Cuslom.r.' ,ltY .cees, to conlex\Ual help._- --

elow Is a list of factors Identified by Ernest and Young as lmportanllo a customer whenurchaslng on the Internet. Rate accordIng to Ihe Importance In Ihe Implementation and

o e!~~\on of your wl!.b'i'~"~.~o ""m11~?~\lk~; ,

_. .... _,.•. .__._._.._"__ ._.. __.... :....,' :t,V~Seeurily et .eOOlnll ctlldll unt I1,.(o""IIUOII anr U1e ""Ea.. ofl1ndlnll You:.o,C.C"C,C_-~d ih;-·---------t---------+--~-"'~----1SUlI

GeCUI'lll' 1'11111 pradl,ll;.lnformlll!on endn,""lsI ploduct.

HoW .....lIl1flldu<.:l. arid \hell 11" ••de.ellbld

Ablllly to do ComllllrllPn .hopplng

'-''JlI\Iy \I) n~ q\lelot\onl.~piaIlSW." onllne

Number Ind variety of prud\lCll•• vell.PI.ror purchll'MlIrchllndl.lngl°C'=',=,.c,=,,:,.C.C,c.,---+---------r------__+-~_~~c.:. -Iproducl,.\ the lit.

Lower p'!cll.lh!ln In tradlllonll.hDpt

"blllly to link 10 olher webslt.. wllhflll.ted !n/orm_Clon0- °

OVer,1I .p••d ofIJ~"

Ability to ha... ,elet I",parla~a

tailored towarde nltad.

"'-bltltv la shtra lnIacl'!'lltkm w\tt\ otherQrlllne ~jallor'

'0 -

an's traditional sho 1

E-commerce: The Impact of Internet technology on retelling. lE-RETAILERS'QUESTIONNAIRE)

Survey Results (Ineh1dllcl Re.pon..-> 41 'ih:f.!HWM

~~h~-::~:~:;:;;rodu~ts or services does your comoanv sell/offer anllne?book.

trav,l

You are c;u,",nily vlewlnll ,urvay m.vll. by If'dMdv,1 m.,ond,nlt. YaLl may ,ag. thraLlgh r"pond."" by cllc~lnll the arrow bUllon,below, or 1II vl,w a .p.c1~o;r rIlPoM'ni', an._.., I)'p. '". numb., and cllc~ Go. "~.

Small Company 4 Employeu Ind VollJnlalra

T·SNrt. for th, SOUL

our com an use la Identl whom our customel'$ are?

to our customers.

{~i;~trt~i'" our customers ercewe our onlln8 secur\\ measures as

team a '1halls the name of

.aeur!!

halls the educational level of most of our em 10 ees?

OW 10 has OUf com an been In busIness?

; How Ion has our corn an been In the e-relall business?

'::'~ ,''1~"a.~'.'~Cl~o~ln'!ll.~o~n~lIn~e!!.!h~a~,"a~t[Ir8!c~t~a~d~m!.!20~,e~ceu~.~t£o~m~.~"!.!:fo~r~~u~r"ceO~m!!R~.~nt'~ -I

A!lrll'

litillJlllf 1!,1' \~ ~ff!~ ha are vou \aroellno wl\h your onllne shop?Wc;rklng cia" Individual.

SUpplier.

Mlnufaelurer.-- .- -"...._,-

,

1

•'.~~~~.!.~~_.-,-,_ .._---pllifT!efll

oomperllon Ihopplng runclloneUly

f~-;·;;;cl;j~~;;Ij~~~~~·~---

faolllty 10 .herelnformeUon with olher

O::~~llorsl_'::'.:":om:.:':.:.:.=_================~=====:::======:::;1

l:ii=T-·---·-_··;2'ljC'::1,b.HoW does our corn an deat with the Issue of corn allllon with rivals In the same sector?

.

.-...._. __...__.__ .._..__._---------_.

Inlllealln nlW pollnUll producla andtervkol'

PromolJn~DUI unllc" to e Wld" IIUdlenU

Incr1..lnll comp.ny pro"t m'r~ln

Pro~ldhl'J customer. with the convenlenu of home Ih~plng

World wide vl,lbl1lty

.4.ccelllblllly 01 complny 10 cUltonler

hat are the benefits of e-relnllln to our corn anEl!lemlln\l OUI c\nIOlllU ",.u.

1

----------------,

Informing cuslomers

Recel;;ii;;j';r;fr;m-;~~---·

Rtpl."I~I.:lf IlJppllatt

Pllyment

AIt.rulll

avtlllablllly of ,lock

customer lervlce

ou,lomer rllallonl

paym'nt/aallh,menl

data procts,lng. ,nalylll, aCudy

web,lle malnlanllnce

eleclronlo eqUlpmenl m.lnttnenee

purcha.lnll- H~ ManAgemenl

lo"lsllc, and IIQck and mllnellemenl

'•..

. 1

ElIcluslveluppllllr (,ell populMltlmathal". cuslomlzed)

Wgh\ pemmal\\y on 0\)1 wm\\e asexprnlld In dllllgn end euembly

Flit ,hlpplng 'nd delivery

Convenience (qulclr. .c"".. to pQpularproduct' .nd ellllmallvlI ID lholllproduct')Knowlngwh'I~;"Un"I;;-;'l.'I~·--------------+----,.,..----t---~~-~--_1propolltlon I, ,'t

KIIowlnO our merkel

~~~fF+~How does your company ensure that these potential benents are aohleved? Rate accordIng~~~,\, .tolheorderoflm ortance.

Knowing our customl~

SegmenllnO OUt customer gloUpI(coUld bl billed 011 ,tyle.penonellty,product cAlegory, popular blllndMm.., pear groupI, geography aMdmorl)

Prlorlll:zl~~ our custom,r segmlnla

AIIQwlng ~IIYWord bUild entry point,for oUt ,11a

V.lue added Conlenl

Purpoulullnformatlon

Marhl ICQlIU (search tmg'lrltlndaxelbeing lIM Important pointer lor Ih,llowCJflralncM(lurllle)

Trus\ e,,~ o",d\b\\lly

Relurn policy

;;;.-..;;~ ;'·~~."".M.' 4;;;;~·~~....dc"hl 0

I!XCLUD£DRI!SP°ft5l!1

Go to IndividualCompleteResponses:

l]] Show respondent's

emalls.

o Cro•• TabulateCIlII' rerelWlCe mulllpl.qu..t1on.

o Download ResultsRK.I.... realllta In~,.adsh..llormal

o View Recipient StatusChltCk Ih. ".ponla .latul ora,oh 01 your reolplenlso

13Emel'lnvhes

Vlllt.

E·commerce: The impact of Internettechnology on retailing. [E·RETAILERS' QUESTIONNAIRE]

Launch Dale 0410112005.10:11 PM

Modlfled Oat. 04/1912005.12:50 PM

Close Doh.

Survey Results (In.l",ded. R••p."...)

Report created on: 02 June 2005 12:33:00

tfJl;lil.!¥;ii·W ",%.1 Ni

'The results of your survey are displayed below. If yoursurvey Includes text responses, click the MVlaw" buttonto read Individual results. To exclude a particularresponse, click the Included Responses button. You canthen view the set of Individual responses that arecurrently Included and select those you wish to exclude.Results below contain only Included responses

.J

Questions that required written responses are displayed byindivIdual query. The "Report Overview" button or "Back" buttonwllJ return you to your survey results.

E·commerce: The impact of Internettechnology on retailing. [E.RETAILERS'QUESTIONNAIRE]

Each Individual respondent Is referenced under the # column.

---_._----------------,1. What Is the name of your company?

.... li:ClI'mI:I1 Orlkl Theater

2 Digital Planet

3 T-Shirts for the SOUL4 MEGASHOPPER

[email protected] MarketTools, Inc. All Rights Reserved.No portion of this site may be copied without the express written consent ofMarketTools, Inc. Trademark Notice

Parllal. 0

Completes

......-.._.._..._._.__._--------Responses: {i. Completes only 0 Partlals only Co Completes & Partlals

..1.What Is the name of your company?

~ 4 Responses

,

j

\

..

2. How many employees do you have? N.,.... of ft,.pOll" U Specify 0 0%ft,.IIO"'''' .....less than 20

50% ....., 4 100%2.Jemployees \"

20 to 50 employees 0 0% ,more than 50 How long has your company been in the e-retail -...... ",f._.•1 25% 5.buslness? R......... .....1.employees

less then 1year 0 0%100 to 200 employee. 0 0%2 - 4 years 2 50%more than 200

0 0%employees 5 - 7 years 1 25%300 to 400 employee. 0 0% B -10 years 1 25%2

more than 500 0 0% '>\;1 more than 10 years 0 0%

UOther, Please S",,,t.<. "",P.>tt ~ 6r>fL.I",J: • 1 25% a Other, Please

0 0%Specify ~.i> 'Vol U ,.,1fUS . . Specify._,4 100%

....1 4 100%.J .J\ ,

What Is the educational level of most of yourN...b_'" "'''plNl.lt Does your company have an existing traditional

3.employees? NUMbvof R.:::.:,.l'l.., ...... FhtClo 6.shop? R,.po_secondary school

0 0% Ves 0 0%certificateNo 4 100%High school diploma 3 75%

T..., 4 100%University degree 2 50%

Technlkon diploma 0 0% -Responses.J

Post graduate degree 0 0%\Advanced studies

0 0% What Is the effect of e-retalllng on yourdiploma/degree 7.company's traditional shop? N........ ofI R..,._.•.--..,...... ...,.

Olher, Please0 0''/0 no effect 4 100%Q Specify

reduce the number ofnew .hop planned 0 0%

\change the shop4.How long has your company been In business? NWllb.... ot "'.:=" 0 0%.......... design

less than 1year 0 0% Improve shop design 0 0%2 - 4 years 1 25% Increase the number

0 0%5 a 7 years 2 50% of distribution center.

1 25% decrease the number0 0°10B -10 years

of distribution centersmore then 10 years 0 0% Other. Please

U Specify 0 0%Other, Please

,

0%

100%-/

100%

0%

0%

0 0%

0 0%

0 0%

0 0%

1 25%

25%

0 0%

2 50%

1 25%

2 50%

0 0%

4

ooo4

NWllb.. of RllpINU.R••pon,.. Ro1'lo

25%

2 50%

1 25%

4 100%

0 0%

,/

Newsletter _

equipment

garden products

plants & flowers

cloths

Loyalty card ---Onllne registration _

Other, PleaseSpecify

cars

Your customers perceive your onllne security

news _

tickets --building materlals

toys/gifts----

banking --

entertainment ------financial

servlcesllnsurance

T-.'

11.Your e-retall site offers variety to your customers.

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Strongly agree

What type of functionality does your company12.use to Identify whom your customers are?

CRM __

(---------------------------,

2 50%

o 0%

o 0%

o 0%

-/

,N_....." R-.=,.........

2 50%

25%

1 25%

0 0%

-/

,N_bwet 11.:::.,.""!"M'"

25%

\What categories of products or services does

10.your company sell/offer onllne? Nu_wet lie.:::::••~P"""

computer hardware 2 50%

computer software 1 25%

books 2 50%

magazines 0 0%

newspaper 0 0%

travel 1 25%music & video (CD's,

1 25%DVD's, aUdio)

food stUffs 0 0%

groceries 0 0%

domestic & kitchen 1 25%

9.What has led to such move?To Increase sales Ill' _

To reduce the cost of

sales

To improve customerrelations (by providing _

service)

Driven to It bycompetition

To beat competitionOther, Please ..#W.<,JS &€<>I 1WIf

Specify 0 i'If>J Co""ffT~"'''~ 50%ffcft'Nd1."""" L~1"I"" Gf CJC1LIlf-,4,j) ..5C1Sl"

(' .__.0_...

At what stage was e-retaillng Incorporated intoa.your business model?

InItial stage ------

Middle stage ---_

Later stage ----Other, Please

Specify

-,

._-----_._-------------~\

------------------------\

450%

2

75%3

25%

50%2

50%2

50%2

3 75%

4 100%

4 100%

3 75%

3 75%

2 50%

o 0%

3very Importent

NIPl'I"~ of' ,,-.p_••Rupon... Rlrtlo

o0%o

0%o

25%1

50%2

50%2

25%1

0%o

o50%

2

25%1

50%2

0%o

25%1

What are the benefits of e-retalllng to your17.company?

Extending our • _

customer reachPromoting ourservices to a wider _

eudlenceIncreasing company • _

profit marginProviding customerswith the convenience _

of home shoppingWorld wide visibility - _

Accessibility of • • __._company to customer

Other, PleeseSpecify

4. Timeliness of delivery

5. Customer serviceprocess satisfaction

6. Returns and exchangeprocess satisfaction7. Interest In new potentialproducts and services

8. Tools to better managetheir business. such asonllne courses, systems toresolve critical client Issuesand management

applications

9. Technical assistance

How does your company ensure that these potential benefits are18.achieved? Rate according to the order of Importance.

;:'~~DtJ:::::l:f:/::"c:::;:::::,- 1 2:Jr;:~~~ti:~~~~""",.rof,...PfIIJd."Q Important not Important

What do you understand are your customer needs? Rate In order16.of importance.

;:'·IJ'::I.::'t:UO~~::rf=:-,J,., 1 2 3nprH'fll. ",Uff nlA'l'lbfro,,.,,pom/.,,tI Important not Important very Important••I"l/nl1 th. Dptlan

0% 0% 100%1. Product-level satisfaction

0 0 4

2. Onllne orders and order 50% 0% 50%planning 2 0 2

3. Order status0% 0% 100%

13.measures as.......... Ite.~ •lb.'...... ftirtl.

secure 2 50%

moderately secure 0 0%

very secure 2 50%

not secure 0 0%

T.... 4 100%..;

\Going online has attracted more customers for

14.YOllr company........... ate., ....,....,.... .....

Agree 4 100%

Disagree 0 0%T..., 4 100%

..;

\

15.Who are you targeting with your onllne shop? .......... J..~~"R..poM"

Credit card holders 3 75%

Students 3 75%

Working class4 100%Individuals

Suppliers 2 50%

Manufacturers 2 50%

Senior citizens 1 25%

Pensioners 1 25%

IGOther, Please

0 0%Specify\. ..;

1. Exclusive supplier (sell\

popular items that are 25% 25% 50% How does your company deal with the Issue of

customized) 1 1 2 19.competltion with rivals In the same sector?Nw-...., It..:::;:'.",.p-...

2. Right personality on ourDeliver neW electronic

websita as expressed In 75% 0% 25% services for our

design end assembly 3 0 1customers and our 1 25%

3. Fesl shipping and 25%Internal sales force.

25% 50% Flexible archllecturedelivery 1 1 2 thal enables us to

4. Convenience (quick taUor our serviceaccess to popular products 0% 25% 75%

offerings to fulfill 25%

and alternatives to those 0 1 3specific local

prOducts), requirements

5. Knowing what our unique 50% 25% 25% Improve supply chain25%

retail value proposition Is 2 1 1 management

6. Knowing our market75% 0% 25% Optlmlze delivery and

3 0 Inventory2 50%

1

7. Knowing our cUstomers25% 0% 75% Reduce transactIon,

1 0 3administration and 25%

8. Segmenting ourmarketing costs

cuslomer groups (could be Increase processbased on style, personality, 25% 50% 25% efficiency

3 75%

product category, popularbrand names. peer groups,

1 2 1 Provide technical

geography and more) assistance3 75%

9. Prlorltlzlng our customer 50% 25% 25%. ~Other, Please . 1I1.vIO~ {;tJ'fO<'r Cfi.ff~r;,. wTII

segments 2Specify "R....L.' f'<"l>1t~

1 25%1 1

1O. Filtering In the best 50% 25% 25%.J

customer 2 1 1( ,

11. Market access (searchTo what extent are these activities carried out on your e-retall

engine Indexes being an 50% 0% 50%20.webslte?

Important pointer for the 2 0 2 ;::"~i:lf(t~:;l:r:.s:toc:::::::::"'r 1 2

flow of traffic on our slle),..",.. ....0 Ktulll nllmlHr g' ,..pGnftn. on tha webslte not on the webslte_"Kiln, 111. ,ptlem

12. Allowing keyword based 25% 25% 50% 50% 50%

entry points for our site 1 1 21. order processIng 2 2

13. Value added content50% 25% 25% 2. order tracking

50%, 50o/Q

2 1 12 2

14. Purposefullnformallon50% 0% 50% 3. customer relatlons 25% 75%

2 0 2 management 1 3

15. Trust and credibility25% 0% 75% 4. newsletter management

50% 50%

1 0 32 2

16, Return policy 50% 25% 25% 5. search100% 0%

2 1 14 0

...J 0% 100%

management 1 0 2 0 16. gift cerllficale 0 4

60%0% 0% 50% 25% 25%

50°/. 4. payment/seWement 0 0 2 1 17. online support 2 2

75% 25%5. data processing, 50% 0% 0% 25% 25%

8. payment 3 1analysis. study 2 0 0 1 1

75%0% 0·% 50% 0% 50%

9. comparison shopping 25% 6. webslte maintenance0 0 2 0 2

functionality 1 3

10. feedback/comment 100% 0% 7. electronic equipment 50% 0% 25% 25% 0%

malntenance 2 0 1 1 0functionality 4 0

8. purchasing - HR 25% 0% 75% 0% 0"'/011. facility to ehare 0% 100% Management 1 0 3 0 0Informatlo.n w\th otheronllne vlsltorslcustomers O' 4 25% 0% 25% 0% 50%

\. ./ 9. aVailability of stock 1 0 1 0 2

To what extent are the following activities carried out (entirely) ,- \

under your management? Rate according to the Importance to e- What challenges do you think face e-retailersN"...b.rof21. relalllng. 23.today?

fl..p""'.ft••pon•., Rlt1:lo

1 2 3 4 5 Improvement In terms;:::::1':'j::U~'7;'':':::::; :::::,.., not Important very of navlgallon

2 50%,.p,.....nll: /u:tu,;; "'umbtr0'",.p~n" Imporlant Important• .Jfi;r!rrlllM opfirm

Designing our webslte

1. Informing customers0% 0% 50% 0% 50% around customers'0 0 2 0 2 likely action patterns

Ihrough observing 25%2. Receiving orders from 0% 0% 25% 0% 75% whatlhe customercustomers 0 0 1 0 3 does.3. Replenishment of 50% 0% 25% 0% 25% Customers' easysUppliers 2' 0 1 0 1 access to contextual 1 25%

4. Paymenl0% 0% 25% 25% 50% help0 0 1 1 2 Fast technology

25% 0%. 25% 0% 50%· change25%

5. After sales 1 0 1 0 2 Competition with first./ world countries with\

more advanced 0 0%

22.Rate the Importance of onllne sales actlvltes to your organization? lechnology and

1 2 3 4 5resources

",.Iop pfft:"'IasI.lndl~.'.. lot.' not Imporlanl very Language barriersrNPOrrt/M' rlUO; th. bprlom numba,npr...nfs IWlu"(t~' of""pond.nU Imporlant Importanl leading to limited

1 25%• .I_O'fltl tIt'f opll~ expansion In other

1. customer service0% 0% 25% 0%. 75% countries0 0 1 0 3 Shifting regUlations

2. customer relations0% 0% 25% 0% 75% and distribution and 2 50%0 0 1 0 3 logistics hassles

3. loglsllcs and stock and 25% 0% 50% 0% 25% Other. Please

,

IlW Specify 0 0%.J,

Below is a list of factors Identified by Ernest and Young asImportanl la a customer when purchasing on Ihe Inlernet. Raleaccording to the Imporlance In the Implementation and operation

24.of your website.

~~~=::l:r;/::..r::=:::::.- 1 2 3',..,.,.nn" ''''UM rrlJmbtlr of rNpOll'dMtlI Important notlmporlant very Imporlant._"lIng Ihf Itpl/M

1. Security of sending credit 25% 0% 75%card Information over the net 1 0 32. Ease of finding your way 25% 0% 75%around the slta 1 0 3

3. Getting latest produce50% 25% 25%Information and newest

2 1 1products

4. How well products and 0% 25% 75%their use are described 0 1 3

5. Ability to do comparison 25% 50% 25%shopping 1 2 16. Ability to ask questions and 25% 25% 50%get answers online 1 1 2

7. Number and variety of25% 25% 50%producls available for

1 1 2purchase8. Merchandising/organization 0% 25% 75%of products at Ihe site 0 1 3

9. lower prices than In 0% 50% 50%traditional shops 0 2 2

10. Ability 10 link 10 olher 0% 75% 25%websltas with related

0 3 1Information

0% 0% 100%11. Overall speed of process 0 0 4

12. Abilily 10 have sales 25% 25% 50%experience tailored towards1 1 2needs

13. Ability to share 0% 75% 25%Information with other onllnevisitors 0 3 1

\. -'(

Give an Indication of your company's proportion25.of sales achieved via Ihe Internel.

high =75% ·100% --_

average =45% • 70% _.__._.

median =15% ·40% _

low:: O%~5%

Other. PleaseSpecify ....,

HjtOIIIMro' "."01'1'.OH_M "'"1 25%

2 50%

1 25%

0 0%

0 0%

4 100%-'

AppendiJ{F

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED WITH MR ELRED LAWRENCE BY LUCY NWOFFIAHCOMPANY: PICK 'N' PAY SUPER MARKETPosmON: BUSINESS SYSTEMS MANAGERDATE: 23 FEBRUARY 2005TIME: 11:30

Q: WHAT IS YOUR POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE COMPANY?

A: My title is the business systems manager of the company which means that Ibasically relate back to the business, find out what the issues and problemsthat needs be resolved through IT systems and then define, document andpass them through to the IT to work or act on them. But my specific role is todeal with issues relating to e-commerce in the business.

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES IN TERMS OF E-COMMERCE AND EBUSINESS IN THE COURSE OF PERFORMING YOUR DUTY?

A: I was the technical architect in the implementation of the Pick. 'n' Payshopping site. I've been with them since last year in implementation and wasalso involved in previous projects.

Q: WHEN DID PICK'N PAY DECIDE TO MAKE A MOVE AS NOT ONLY ARETAIL SHOP OR OUTLET BUT TO INCORPORATE E-RETAILBUSINESS?

A: In November 2000.

Q: HOW HAS IT BEEN SO FAR?

A: It has been complex, difficult, painful, chalfenging and exciting. It's verydifficult marketing invention. The advantages from pick. and pay perspective(my own perspective) is that you already have the brand and also peopleunderstand the brand but the disadvantage is that the brand has alreadybeen created in tenns of it being something that you dare not break soin whatever you do you have to consider the fact pick and pay is in questionand you also have to be exceedingly careful in whatever decisions you aretaking so the business will not crumble resulting to starting a B2C sitefrom the scratch. Set your own rules and setyour own brand.

Q: WHAT NEW STRATEGIES HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO INCORPORATEIN THE MARKET THAT OTHER E-RETAlL BUSINESSES DOES NOTHAVE AND WHICH MAKES YOU OUTSTANDING?

A: Sad to say not much because technology is such as these days that you canbuy anything at any level essentially. If you start an e-retail site today, yourcompetition could start up today and being at exactly at the same place weare without any difficulty. The only true advantage right now, we will maintainthat for awhile is if you went into our home shopping site, over the yearswe've collected huge amount data of our customers and unlike Clicksstores we don't know who is spending in our shop because we don't haveclub card etc but what we do know that is that customers come in and pay

with credit card/debit card/cheque and we know what that person has boughtbecause we can link the card with the items bought. Like if you comeinto our shop and say here's my credit card, we can prepare theshopping list for this customer. One our newest added services is the GoBanking. Apart from that, it's not much but we have big plans to startoffering services you find in our traditional shops like in incorporatingthird party payments - SABC TV license, payment ofelectricity, airtimeetc that you can do in our traditional shops and that wilf obviously it wilfgive us a strategic advantage.

Q: WHAT ACTUALLY LED TO PICK 'N' PAY'S DECISION TO GO INTO ERETAILING?

A: Essentially I will say it is a strategic move because we are proud to beknown as one of the leading e-retailers in the country. Being on the leadcomes from our technology and also from our stores plus all sorts of reasons.We offer a whole menu of services if you come into our stores many thingsthat we do that you can't do with our competition. We therefore see this asan additional service which we offer to compliment all the rest of theservices and keep us in the lead.

Q: DOES ALL YOUR SUPER MARKETS OFFER E-RETAlL SERVICES ORDO YOU HAVE CERTAIN SUPER MARKETS AND STORES THAT DOESTHAT?

A: Our module is such that we identify key stores in key areas that we put outthere in order to follow our customer orders. In the Gauteng region we havefour stores that we use. Also in the Pretoria area there are about six stores,two in Cape Town and one in the Durban areas. It depends on the density,region and the reqUirements of the customers.

Q: COULD YOU EXPAND ON THE IMPACT OF INTRODUCING E-RETAlLlNGIN YOUR COMPANY?

A: It is not a great profit to be honest; it costs a lot of money to run so it reallybecomes prospective strategic decisions. There are very few modules in theworld where people are making money from a retailer doing e-retailingbusinesses. Standalone retailing has almost disappeared internationallybecause people who started can't make it. The difficulty comes aroundphysical delivery. Any physical buying of goods on the Internet requiresdelivery and it requires a lot of cost to such. Thafs why people who areleading in Internet retailing are people that deal in goods such as books,records, flowers, things that does not require much delivery. They makeuse of other peoples delivery mechanisms. Any physical shopping of goodsusing the Internet requires delivery and in the case of large bulky productsthey are very expensive.

Also the cost of fulfilling orders is very high and also Internet shoppinghas become something that you have to adopt and execute which also isvery complex. It has impacted our business activities because it is very realand we have to implement processes in those stores and make sure it works.

We also had to become partner-partner with other companies such as,outsourcing to a delivery company. We outsourced the development andmaintenance of the website of the company site to a company, we'veoutsourced the call center through developing new business partnerships.

Q: DOES PICK 'N' PAY OPERATE ONLY LOCALLY OR ALSOINTERNATIONAlLY?

k We own Franklins in Australia and half of a big retailing company inZimbabwe otherwise we are just local.

Q: WHAT CATEGORIES OF PRODUCTS DOES PICK 'N' PAY SELLONUNE? DOES IT RANGE FROM GROCERIES TO HARDWARE?

A: It is. Our initial decision was to make sell products ranging from what youcan obtain from our traditional-shops. They include CDs, pool acids,electrical goods and things like that, but not Fridges and Stoves. However,that is the beginning, we have established a separate site where we can sellfridges and stoves other than the hypermarkets but it is not doing great. It isone of the things which we want to implement into one site so that we canhave a-one-stop-shop.

Q: HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHO BUYS ONLlNE?

A: Because of Internet security we do not hold credit card details on or site.However when the purchase is made. ifs complex. Because we have astore model from which we fulfill, we actually take the payment in the storefrom the credit card and link it up in the normal way.

Buying online is standard as people have to register and that is how youget to know who they are.

Q: WHAT KIND OF CUSTOMERS DO YOU EXPECT TO PURCHASE FROMYOUR ONUNE STORES?

A: In our business module we expect it to be people between the ages ofabout25 and 35. We also expect that they should be fully employed, essentiallybe computer or Internet literates and also have access to thecomputer/Internet either at work orat home.

We found that majority of our users are female and mothers with babies orsmall kids are on top of our list and maybe mother that just had a baby orwhose children are small and do not like going shopping. We have alsofound that about 80% of our customers on the site are English-speaking butI think this is because ofour marketing and not because ofdemographic.Our online customers also include maids. The funny ones we found are that70% of our customers have dogs and about a few (30%) have cats.

Q: BASED ON THE STATISTICS OF PEOPLE PROBABLY FEMALES ANDMOTHERS THAT VISIT YOUR SITE AND MAKE PURCHASES, WHATKIND OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES DO THEY PURCHASE?

A: The statistics we found is that it takes about four shops to become a regularshopper. If our frequent shoppers tend to stay, they buy everything. Thegoods purchases ranges from toothpaste, toilet papers etc. We have alsofound that our customers spend more at a single time on home shoppingthan they do if they went to the stores. For instance, where a person goes tothe shop and spends R300, we found out that they spend an average of ahome shopper spends at about R12 a day on the online shop which isbasically on items needed for about a month and then do the rest of theshopping at the convenient time. The reason is because the delivery fee isR45 which means that the same amount is paid for the small goods and thebig ones too.

Q: IS YOUR STATISTICS NOT MADE UP OF OLD AGE PEOPLE?

A: We do have but they are very few in number. We try to market to old agehomes but it is not very successful.

Q: HOW DOES THE COMPANY HANDLE THE ISSUE OF SATISFYINGCUSTOMER VARIETY OF NEEDS THROUGH E·RETAllING?

A: Because of our business model, our customers purchase from our physicalstores and because of this, the whole business is organised aroundproviding variety for our customers. So we do say to customers thatwhatever is in the stores is what they can buy. We can't say to them that youcan only have A1gold instead of proViding them with Koo. Therefore wewould say that we offer fuff range.

We need to integrate some services, such as general merchandise, andentertainment sections, Go banking. We need to integrate some servicesthat run across. So that all our Go Banking customers can shop online andpay their fines bills etc. .

Q: LOOKING AT YOUR FINANCIAL REPORT OF 2004, THE TRADINGPROFIT INCREASED BY ABOUT 15.9%, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THEPROFIT IS GENERATED FROM YOUR E-RETAlL BUSINESS?

A: It is very small, about 0.21%. Ifs millions but very small.

Q: IS ANYTHING BEING DONE TO IMPROVE THIS PROFIT?

A: Yes. We are bUSy now with the process. The site online went live in March2001 was our 1sl retail store online, which is four years now and it was stillhave the same site and service. We are going through the process thatwould improve it a liWe bit in entirely to attract more customers. The stepsinclude:We have got 121,000 registered customers on the net. That is fantastic butonly about half of these people actually shop on the Internet, so people just

register but have not shopped. The view is not to only attract these people tothe site but to also make them to start shopping. It doesn't help us toadvertise on radio etc rather we try to market to them directly, find out what isstuck in them and also try to improve the site in order to attract them. So, ifwe get those people in we'll improve the profit and that is the logic.

Q: DO YOU KNOW WHAT COULD BE THE REASON WHY SOME PEOPLEWHO VISIT YOUR SITE DO NOT SHOP?

A: Yes we know. We have asked these questions and some have responded toit A lot of them just think that the site is a little bit unreal. For instance theregistering processes takes a long time to complete as it is about threepages. We have cut it down to about a page making it easier to register.Although online shopping process is always very complex and very difficult,we think that we've got it right. There are at least about 20,000 productswhich you can choose from. In order to present these in a way that makes iteasy for the person to go from e.g. buying shampoo for the baby tobaked beans for the braai, we have to find a way to present the layoutnicely to the buyer. At the moment we have presented it relatively simple butwe need to re-look at that in tenns of speed more than the layout. We needto increase the speed rather than concentrating more on the layout.

Q: IS E-RETAlLlNG WORKING FOR THE COMPANY AND IN WHAT WAYS?

A: Yes it is working and it is becoming more established. Going to its fifth yeartells me that it's working and it's settled. This process is working out nicelyand we are very proud of it.

Q: DOES E-RETAILlNG WORK FOR YOUR COMPANY IN TERMS OFADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. WHAT ARE THE WAYS INWHICH E-RETAlLERS SUCH AS YOUR COMPANY CAN ATTRACTMORE CUSTOMERS?

A: It is called service, service, service! And we haven't even really scratchedthat. We need to find ways to really cater for people. For instance, one ofour biggest problems is being out of stock. From the site we tell thecustomer that he/she can get about 500ml All Gold tomato sauce but on theday he goes to the store to buy it, he does find none in the shelf. So what dowe do? We don't want the customer to use Koo because she can't find whathe/she originally wanted. We will now say ok we can get her a smaller bottle.Initially this customer is usually fine with it, but this might make us loose sucha customer. So, we try to second guess what our customers want that wehave not got in stock. As an e-retail company the first thing we need to do isto make sure that we are not out of stock and this is one of the bad issuesfacing the company and we need to resolve that.

Also we need to find a way of not irritating our customer. On the site ourcustomer can say that she would take this substitute but in the store shewould say that she would take something else but to substitute it, must be ofthis particular range. So, we need to have simple things available that willmake it easy for the customer to choose from.

I will go back to delivery. Delivery is always difficult because we tell ourcustomers that we would get to their house at about 1Dam or 11am tomorrowbut then we do not make it at time maybe because there were otherdeliveries to be made before hers. In this way, we are loosing customers sowe need to find ways to improve our services, and if we say that we are doingsomething, we should go ahead and do it. When we overcome these twomajor problems out ofstock and delivery we will be ahead of other peoplein the business as it is a common problem in the market.

Q: LESSONS LEARNT FROM BEING IN THIS POSITION OF MANAGING ANE-RETAlL SECTION OF THE COMPANY

A: It is the most incredible difficult thing to do. That little e-bubble that everyoneis saying... The entire thesis that you read at the University, every singlemagazine that you picked up was absolutely adamant saying that Clicks willreplace Bricks but I can tell you now from my experience, Clicks will neverreplace Bricks, never. Essentially in a very short space of time a lot of theoriginal thinking was disproved. Now what we have to do is to find a newway to integrate the clicks with the bricks so that people can have thesame experience they have in the traditional shop online also. This willhelp to have a choice on which medium ofshopping to use.

Q: HOW DOES THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SEE THIS SECTION OFPICK'N PAY BUSINESS - E-RETAlLlNG?

A: They will like to see it adding a lot to the bottom line to the company. Andhence improve more, get more customers and help change the way peoplesee Pick 'n' Pay.

Q: HOW DOES YOUR EMPLOYEES SEE THIS SECTION OF PICK 'N' PAYBUSINESS - E-RETAlLlNG

A: Ifs interesting because unless you are in one of the stores where you aredirectly affected, I don't think many of the employees know too muchabout it. And it sounds strange but if you consider we have 35 000 people inthe company and of those 2000 have access to computers, I honestly don'tbelieve that ifs been thought out very well. It's sad but that's the way it is.

Q: YOU DO HAVE INTERNAL MAGAZINES THAT YOU USE TO MARKETAND ALSO CREATE AWARENESS TO BOTH CUSTOMERS ANDEMPLOYEES?

A: Yes, we do, plenty in the company. On occasions some marketing is donethrough that for e-retailing. Our home shopping division also runs anelectronic magazine that we send to our customers not necessarilyemployees. We also have one that is on the Intranet, so anyone who hasaccess to computer within the company can access the Internet magazine ifthey want to.

Q: HOW DOES PICK 'N' PAY MANAGE QUALITY OF INFORMATION,SERVICE/PRODUCT?

A: By being picky, picky picky. It's a very difficult thing to do. If we look at thequality of service in the store and I will go back to the fact that we have 35000people in our stores. It's very easy for the GEO to say, we don't wantcustomers standing in queues in our stores, which is one of our fivepromises. But that's very difficult to implement. It's easy for us to say weguarantee we will deliver in the stock time, we promise that. The only way wecan get anywhere near there is to measure how close you are as opposed towhether you actually achieving it. Because it is by constantly reviewing, soyou have to keep going back, look at the business processes change themif necessary, re-learn, re-motivate, re-teach them to the people. And thatgoes for the quality and cleanliness of the store.

Q: WHERE DO YOU THINK E-RETAlLlNG IS GOING?

A: If I look at the way retailing is going. We tend to follow the retail pattern.Retailing is moving towards convenient store, close to where you live,ease of preparation for you, not going to slice and dice because peoplewant instantaneous satisfaction, high quality product, convenience.Looking at that model, if you link e-retailing to that, that model says that weshould be able to link into that. This shows that we should be to bedelivering the services at quickly to customers as possible.

The issue we have in SA and Africa in general is that we have relatively smallpopulation and relatively wide spread areas are not the high denselypopulated and our supplier chain is very long that we have to move thingsfrom Durban and Gape Town, where is in the European market and the bigcities there is more chances of its success because everything is so denselypopulated. I still think their will be a segment in the market who actually willchoose to do e-retailing and huge segment that will want to just walk downthe street rather than e-retail purchases.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE, WITH REGARDS TO YOUREXPERIENCE IN THE E-RETAIL BUSINESS?

A: Change management both internally and externally. Getting people tounderstand what you are trying to do, justifying it. Technology is easy butchange management is difficult.

Q: HOW DO YOU THINK THESE CHALLENGES SHOULD BE HANDLED TOMAKE THE BUSINESS A SUCCES IN THE FUTURE?

A: I think we have to be responsive to consumer needs. When I look back fouryears ago, when we started up, we had to believe in the way people wouldrespond to customer need and we essentially structured our business modelwithin those needs. There wasn't this huge movement from bricks to clicksas anticipated at the time and yet there's a whole need for people to be dealtin a different way. As I explained to you, we have to deal with people in away that they will appreciate. We should rather try not to be a follower than a

leader. We should try to anticipate some of those needs and be ahead ofthe game. If you are always following, you will always going to be athree hundred thousand miles people behind you.

Q: HOW DO YOU HANDLE INTERNAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT

With great difficulty, internal change management has to deal withcontinuous to communication. You have to keep on telling people whatyou are doing and make sure the message sits in, the sad thing about it is, bythe lime they get it, you've actually moved on ten paces.

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED WITH MR MOJEED BIOBAKU BY LUCY NWOFFIAHCOMPANY: WOOLWORTHSPOSITION: SENIOR SYSTEMS ANALYSTDATE: 23 MARCH 2005TIME: 11:30

Q: HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DOES WOOLWORTHS HAVE?

A: Head alone hold more than 2 000 employees, more than 130 stores withinthe country. We are moving to other countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia,Lesotho, Botswana, Dubai, Tanzania. The head office is here in Cape Townand we supply to other stores.

Q: WHAT IS THE EDUCATIONAL LEVEL OF YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE?

A: It varies. Mostly standard Matric. Quite a good number of them with Matricwith experience and others have tertiary educational.

Q: HOW LONG HAS WOOLWORTHS BEEN IN BUSINESS?

A: I do not have the infonnation off hand, lets say more than 30 years. Mark &Spencer (sister company) in Europe, most of the clothing you see in Wooltruare supplied by Mark & Spenser's suppliers.

Q: IN TERMS OF E-RETAlL BUSINESS, WHEN DID IT START?

A: Immediately after the Y2K trend. Inthebag manages our electronic business.Partially owned by Wooltru.

Q: WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF THE E-RETAlL BUSINESS TO YOURPHYSICAL STORE

A: Initially the anticipation wasn't really what it is. We thought it was going totake away substantial part of the traditional shop but it wasn't. People seeshopping as an entertaining thing and experience and not just buyinggoods. People also want to socialise. I don't think the impact is much. Thesame people that order via online also shop on the traditional shop. Forexample, haVing a Woolworths cafe is there to serve the customers need tosit down and socialise before or after shopping and see all the activitieshappening around them. Because of the trend and how people see shopping,it really did not take people way from the traditional shop.

People buy emergency good from the Internet. They still go out onweekends to do weekly or monthly shopping, this is part of socializing andnot just shopping. For food it's easy but also clothing, people want to try iton.

The fear people are haVing is that people will loose their jobs in the shopsdue to that, but it is negligible. E-retai1ing is still an add-on.

Q: AT WHAT STAGE WAS E-REllLlNG INCORPORATED INTOWOOLWORTHS BUSINESS MODEL?

A: Woolworth's started development long time ago. We had a vision prior to theY2K. When the Intemet boom started, we saw it as an opportunity andthought that there is a need for e-business not just a means ofcommunication but do business.

Q: HAS IT HAD ANY EFFECT IN TERMS OF BEING KNOWN WORLD WIDEOR INTERNATIONAL?

A: That is actually a big part of e-business. That is the symbol we used tomarket ourselves worldwide. Provided opportunity for Woolworths to beknown worldwide. Helps us to mange our franchise stores, especially ouroverseas partners do not need to travel down and make purchase rather theycan order online.

Q: WHAT LED TO THE MOVE TO E-RETAlLlNG?

A: Competition is one and because it's a global thing. The company want tomake money and also want to be the leader in what we do (competitiveadvantage) over our competitors.

Q: DOES IT OFFER CUSTOMERS VARIETY OF SERVICE?

A: Offers them varieties but they have limited varieties of products.Because some services cannot be carried out offered on/ine e.g.clothing because customer wants to try that on first before purchase.But there are other services we offer them e.g. financial services, checktheir accounts, log a call, make enquires. These are the advantages the ebusiness actually to Woolworths.

Q: DO YOU HAVE ONLlNE TECHNICAL SUPPORT?

A: We don't have online support but we have a system purely for customerswhere they can log a call and track the status of their order or querieswith there reference number. It makes it much easier for customers and thetechnical support to be able to manage the call until that call is closed,without being neglected.

Q: IS YOUR INTRANET SITE FOR YOUR STAFF AND CUSTOMERS?

A: No, it's only for staff who are allowed to log into the network with theirpassword.

Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY FUNCTIONALITY THAT ALLOWS YOU TO KNOWWHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE?

A: Yes, we have the Woolworths card for our customers which will hold all theirinformation. With that we build our customer database. This helps us towhere our customer's shops and which products they purchase and which

ones they enquire for. But we cannot track all non card carry members, thatis, customers that walk in and buy with cash. So what we've done is toextend that functionality to non-card members. We lunch the CK Projectsometime, so we give every person that comes to the shop a card. It's a forma loyalty reward that offered to all customers. After a period of time thesecustomers that have accumulated certain point will now be rewarded with avoucher based on how much they have spent in the shop. We use that totrack other Woolworth's non-card carrying members

Q: DO YOU USE ANYTHING LIKE ONLlNE NEWSLETTER?

A: Yes we have online newsletter to lunch information to our customers. If thereis any problem we use that to reassure customers that any problem athand will not affect them.

Q: HOW DO YOUR CUSTOMERS PERCEIVE YOUR ONLINE SECURITYMEASURES?

A:. I do not have the full detail information and view of the report that deals withcustomer satisfaction. I can speak as a Woolworths customer yes it issecure. We so have some downtime as well but there is nothing major but wehandle it and make sure it does not affect the customers so that we couldloose them

Q: DO YOU THINK HAVING AN E-RETAIL BUSINESS HAS HELPED ININCREASING YOUR CUSTOMER DATABASE?

A: Yes, it has a litlle bit It hasn't taken customers away from the floor. We havepeople because of distance who are in the remote area or do not shopfrequently, the online store have helped to bridge that gap.

Q: WHAT GROUP OF PEOPLE DOES WOOLWORTH TARGET WITH ITSONLlNE SHOP?

A: The target market is the food market, people that really enjoy quality food.We have increase to garment as well but our primary target is foodcustomers.

Q: WHAT DO UNDERSTAND ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS NEEDS?

A: In terms of customer need, it varies. Woolworths has a vision which one ofthem is customer satisfaction which is our priority. To give our customersvalue for their money. In as much as we also focus on quality, also givecustomers value for their money so that they can come back.

Q: HOW DO YOU COPE WITH COMPETITION TO ABLE TO BE ONE OF THELEADING RETAIL BUSINESSES IN THE COUNTRY?

A: The way to deal with competition is always to be ahead of your competitors,look are what we are doing and studying the market reaction to it, frequent

checking of the market share. We are all in the industry going for the samecustomers so checking that will help the market share not to drop.

We have a department that studies what is happening (Businessdevelopment department) out there and keep the company up to date. Theycan come up with new product or initiative for the company. With that,Woolworths is able to maintain their lead in the market without being off thetrack with new strategies that could be tested and implemented. This alsohelps on how to improving our services and also in launching new products.

If you listen to your customer complains and ideas you will be able tounderstand their needs and try to satisfy those needs. The most importantfor us is availability of products. And also try to make it value for moneyand not just availability, we have to align it somehow. For example if acustomer wants an item or food and its out of stock, that does not portray agood image of the company because we not abiding to our stated visionwhich like I mentioned is satisfying customer needs and make the customerhappy and also get more customer. This will also push our customersaway.

Q: HOW DOES YOUR DELIVERY POLICY WORK?

A: Woolworths has a policy that says that whatever you buy and your location,there is delivery fee to it. As soon as customer logs on, one of the profiles thecustomer has to fill in is the location. The turn around time is 24 hours.

Q: WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU THINK FACE E-RETAlLERS TODAY?

A: From my view, I think is the technology itself because systems change veryquickly. System management, viruses attack, all the technical issueswhich handicap the business because they cannot do anything about it.Technical issue is the main issue; uptime cannot be guaranteeD, lowdownload/view of the webpage, onlineloffline connectivity. Again forexample with order, a customer wants a red shirt, yes you have the stock butwhen the customer clicks he/she doesn't get anything because somehow thecatalogue is not updated yet, things like that.

Also the security to some extent and the competence of the user itself,which is not Woolthworths problem but it's all technical problems. Alsomaking the interface user friendly and easy navigability

Q: CAN YOU GIVE ME AN INDICATION OF HOW MUCH THE INTERNETSALES HAS CONTIRUBUTED TO THE COMPANY?

A: I do not have the statistics at hand but I can get it for you some other time.

Q: WHAT HAPPENED TO INTHEBAG?

A: There was a whole of repositioning of the business a couple of 4years ago.WooItru was part of the business and when they pulled out and bringing inInthebag. Woolworths had to re-engineer and they had to go through

downsizing some departments and sections as the logical thing to do. Toincorporate sections of the company into departments. because Woolworthscannot manage two different companies at the time. It wasn't Woolworthsdecision then. In tenns of running a separate company wasn't working for thecompany but I see it going back to Inthebag

There will be new things happening in the company soon becauseWoolworths wants to establish more in Africa and become number one inAfrica especially food. In next two years it will grow more.

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED WITH MR YAHYA PATEL BY LUCY NWOFFIAH

COMPANY: MUSICAPOSITION: E-eOMMERCE MANAGERDATE: 30 MARCH 2005TIME: 10:30

Q: CAN YOU BRIEFLY TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF YOUR ROLES IN THEBUSINESS?

A: Am the e-commerce manager for Musica head office. I manage the ecommerce side ofthe business.

Q: WHEN DID YOUR COMPANY MAKE A MOVE TO BECOME AN E-RETAILSTORE?

A: When we saw that their was a demand for it. Also when we needed to addsomething to the business that we think will attract more customers to ourstores.

Q: WHAT HAS LEAD TO SUCH MOVE? WAS IT STRATEGIC?

A: Absolutely. Initially we never knew that going online would put us ahead ofour competitors and like I said we wanted our customers to keep comingback and possibly new one will also come in.

Q: IN WHAT WAYS HAS YOUR COMPANY INCORPORATED THEINTERNET INTO ITS BUSINESS OPERATIONS?

A: Online retail sale is one of it. Where we offer various products and services toour customers, like selecting a particular track and listening to it beforepurchase, instead of having to listen to all the CDfalbum or buying the entireCD track with undesired tracks on it. We use the Internet to keep track of ourcustomers and their rating of our services. We use the Internet for researchpurposes, find what is new in the industry, how it is working for differentcompanies and maybe incorporate that at some stage.

Q: HOW HAS THE INTRODUCTION OF E-RETAlLlNG IMPACTED ON YOURCOMPANY'S BUSINESS ACTIVITIES?

A: It has impacted positively on our sales and in our customer relations. Alsowe now have a presence worldwide through our website and it has helped inbringing our international customers especially Africans all over the world to.They can purchase our Africa musicfproducts from us.

Q: WHAT CATEGORIES OF PRODUCTS DOES MUSICA SELL ONLINE?

A: Music, DVD, digital downloads, ringtones, MMS, games, gift vouchers, onlinemagazine. We will be introducing movie digital download soon.

Q: HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO BUYS ONLlNE?

A: Our customers have to register firstly if they want to carry out a transactionon Our site. Also our Pulse magazines attracts readers who do not actuallypurchase on the site but just to read some updates in music maybe.

Q: WHAT KINDS OF CUSTOMERS DO YOU EXPECT TO PURCHASE FROMYOUR ONLlNE STORE?

A: Anyone. If you love music, have a cellphone, you are welcome. We'veactually found out that students visit our site more. You know they like freestuff.

Q: WHAT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DOES YOUR CUSTOMERS OFTENPURCHASE?

A: Music, DVD, ringtones

Q: HOW DOES YOUR COMPANY HANDLE THE ISSUE OF SATISFYINGCUSTOMER VARIETY OF NEEDS?

A: Ustening to our customers. Asking for their opinion on our services and howthey feel we can add value to their needs. We also try to add variety on thewebsite, e.g we've categorised our music according to genre, artist. We havea search facility. All these are what our customers need. Very importantly,we have to be up to date with our music and update the site as soon we getverification from our sources. We try to let our customers hear and downloadthe latest musidDVD first from us.

Q: WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR COMPANY ATTRACT MORE CONSUMERSAND ALSO GAIN A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OVER RIVALS IN THESAME SECTOR?

A: I think my previous response did cover that

Q: WHAT WERE THE CRITICAL COMPETENCIES NEEDED TO MAKE THISWORK?

A: Being the best in what we do. This we do my having the best support staff.We always do research and be up to date with both our national andinternational competitors.

Q: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT FROM THIS EXPERIENCE OF MANAGINGAN E-RETAlL BUSINESS?

A: Very challenging. I have learnt that customers are the reason we are inbusiness today, so satisfying their needs is very essential.

Q: HOW DOES MUSICA MANAGE QUALITY GENERALLY (QUALITY OFINFORMATION, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES)?

A: Like I mentioned earlier. Being the best in what we do. This comprises ofproviding our customers with good products and services.

Q: ON YOUR WEBSITE, CUSTOMERS HAVE MORE APPROPRIATEVARIETY.

A: Yes. You can visit our site and see for yourself

Q: WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU THINK FACE E·RETAlLERS TODAY?

A: The fast technology change is the biggest challenge. The developed countriesare ahead and by the time we try to get at least a quarter of where they arethey've moved 5 paces away from us. Our bandwidth andtelecommunications systems are also a challenge which affects both ourcustomers and our business. For example, we want to introduce digital moviedownload. if a customer does not have the appropriate connection, they will notbe able to enjoy such service. Shifting regulations and the processesinvolved also a challenge.

Appendix G

Directory of retail web sites in SA1 Market, All

5 Star PaMlShop

A Gospel Shop

AA Biltong

N-CAMusic

Abba Moosa Wlolesalers

Accessories Tosh

AccessOOes.za.com

Ace IMlolesalers

Adive Cellular

Ads for MicaAdstyle

Adult zoneAd'Ianced Business Systems_ Baby Concepts

Africa Origms

Mican Qystals

Mican Gemstones

MicanGifts

African Online Shop

Mican Rock and Qystal

Af\ican Rootbos Tea

Mican Sandals

African Sewing Machine Co.

Mican Touches

Afucansandal.com

AfiicaplllS.com

AlricaRea<l

Ahlan Wasahlan

A1rgun

Alexanderlontein wine store

Alia BakOly & Confectionery

All Continents

AJIiedAtms

AlmostBare

AJstroemeria

American SMss Jewellery

Amor-Ungerie

Ananzi Auctions

Ananzi FJor..vers

Ananzi Shopping

Andan Mattresses

Andrea Semples Topiary Creations

Angel Fashion Accesories

Anrogift

Apple Tree Gifts

Appliance Africa

Appliance Online

Appliances Dnline

WM".lrn3rl<et4all.com

WM".5~.co.za

WM"·IlQsPel-shop.co.za

WWYI.leJdrer.treeservers.com

W'II'II·~co.za

W'NW·orjentalderightcoza

www·to,n.co.za

wmI·at::(;eSSOrieS2acem

WW'II·acewtdesalers.cozaWWVtI·~fular.co.za

'HW'H.ilftl~'3.co.za

WW\II-Udstyle,ro.za

www·ilduftZcne·CXI.za,

WWW·~&n.com

www·~~co.za

www.~ns.c:o.za

www.a~com

www.a~.co.za

www.~net

W'NW.Qye(2u.c;om

www.afrjc;;anrockandcry.com

SQIJ\t1africar<ooibostea_sandafs.treeYeIIOW.com

www·af\ew.cozawww.afrj~com

www.afrjcansandal.oomwww.afrjcaP!us-com

www.afrjcarea<l-com

WNW·ahI9f1·COza

www.airgon.cozaW'INI.aI~nwines_co-Za

www.aIfal>akety.c:om

WWW·alIcontinents.c:o.zaWWW.altiedatms-CXl.Ia

WWW·a1rnostbare.coza

www.a1~co.za

www.~.za

www·arnor..fingerie.co.za

www.anaJ.lZiauetiOlS.co.za

www·netfloristco.zalananzi

WWW.""anZiSlJOPPing.coza

www·anctan..co.zawww.tq.wy.co.za

www.OOgelfashionco.za

www.8nrogiftco.za

www.atQjfts.com

WNW.apPIianceafrica..co.za

www.apPfianceoriIne.co.za

WNW.appliancesonline.co.za

arts and c:raflsdassifiedsloomparisonlpawn

spedafist - general

food, bevefage. grocerieS

sports, roe. outdoor. hobby

rood. beverage. grocerieS

jeweIIely

apparel

general

electronic and celIufargene!al

home and garden

spedafist - adIJIl

hospi'JIlitj

health, beauty. baby

gi1ls

ie'MlIIery

jewellery

gifts

gi1ls

jewellery

food, bevefage. groceries

appa-eI

home and garden

gifts

appa-eI

Africa

books

speciaJist • general

firearms

alcohol

food. beverage. groceries

home and garden

firearmslingerie

ftowersjewellery

lingerie

auetioIl

ftowersgeneral

home and garden

1Iowersappa-eI

gifts

gifts

home and garden

home and garden

home and garden

~pciate Clcthing

A_ Water Coolers

AQUariusArtika Ceramics

AsmAsm Direct

,Aspen Promotions

Assegai Traml19

/'$Jr Cash & Carry

~uts

Al-'Mne \'Me Sales

/<J1>JrAdNeAUdion Guide

""""onNetA_

Avondale Harp EnterPrise.p.vonIea

Sait<lT_

Saloon City

Salu Design centre

Sang & OIufsen - WP

SargainBox

Bargain_cs

Bamey's Belts

Batteries

Bed Zone

Bects.On-line

Sellabianca Exdusive Handmade

Benmore Florists

eestcut ButcheIy Group

Bid er Buy

Big John Clotting Manufaclurers

Big Save Cash &Carry

Bigfool Men's Shoe Store

Billies Biltong

aiJtollg2u

aiZPoint (Ply)Ltd

alad< Coffee

BlastZone

BlOmeyers

a- of I<n'f'I\3alue Ma>< (Ply) Lld

aoeremarXB<lIand Wne cellar

eom1s Best Buys

llool<s24

llouquet On~ne

lltaShop

B(ainpowergarnes

llrandlJef9 Cryslals

llroadwaY Arms

W"N'N.appropriate.co.za

WWW.aquacool.co.za

www.angeffire.(X)lTI/ctIaquarius

www.artikaco.za

WWW.ascolco.za

www.ascotdirect:.co.za

WtNw.aspenprocnations..o:Jm

www.assegaitrading.co.za

www.astor.zacom

WWW.astronuts.ca.za

WWW.at·wine.com

www.aucorac:tive..co.zawww.auetionguide.co.za

www.auetionnetCO.z;i

WWN.austware.com

www.harps.co.za

W'NW.avonleaco.za

'N'NW.bairdtech.com

www.baIlooocity.co.za

www.baIu.co.za

www.beosl1op->Hp.<:o.za

WWN.bargainbox.CO.za

myweb.mailbox.co.za!l>argaineled

usersJantic.netJbdewetI

WWW.batteries.co.za

www.bedzone.co.za

www.beds-on-tine.co.za

www.beIlabiancacom

www.benmoreflorists.co.za

WWN.bestculCO.za

WWN.bidorbuy.co.za

www.bigjohn.co.za

WWN.big:save.co..za

www.bigfootco.za

www.cynel.co.za.t.i1f1eSl

www.tHltong2u.co.uk

www.bizpoint.co.za

www.b1a<:kcoffee.co.za

WWW.~astzone.co.za

www.bkJmeyers.CQ.za

WNW.bkJomers.CO.za

WNW.bfuemax.co..za

www.boeremaIk-cornboIandwines..co.za

www.bestbuys.co.za

'NW'N.b00ks24.CO.za

W'NW.bo\.XVlet.co.za

www.brashop.co.za

www.brainpowergames.co.za

WWN.crystalS.CO.za

www.broadwa).arms.co.za

apparel

home and garden

home and garden

gilI3

home and garden

health, beauty, baby

arts and aa1ls

spedalist - genetaIfood, beverage, groceries

food, be'Iefage, grooe<ies

a100h0i

auction

auction

auction

home

music, movies. dvd

apparel

.-ne<yand olIi<:esports, rec., outdoor. hobby

apparel

eledronic and cellular

classifiedslcomparisonlpawn

eledronic and cellular

apparel

eledronic and cellUlar

home and gartlen

home and gartlen

apparel

flowersfood. be__,g~

auction

apparel

food, beverage, grocelies

apparel

food, be_, groceries

food, beverage, grocelies

.-ne<yand olIi<:eapparel

gifts

electronic and cellular

flowersapparel

specialist - genetaI

a1lXtlo1

general

books-lingerie

sports, rec., hobby

jewellery

firearms

Broadway SWeets broa<Iwa~co.za food, bevefage, grocsiesBryanpark Mica Hardware www.icon.co.zaI-bparkJ hOme and gar<lenBumblebeetuna Haloes, Headdresses www.bumtHebeetunaco.za aware!Bundu Creations www.bundudothing.co.za aware!Bushcamp Trading www.Bushcamptrading.co.za sports, ree., llUldo<li, hol>bys

Buy Rowers OnJine www.buy..flowers..ordine.co.za lowersBuy Gills 0nI"1fle www.buy..gi1'ts-online.oo.za gillsBuy-sacom Wtt'W'.buy-sacom AIJicanCAPgencie$ WW'N.caagendes.co.za gills

t CaCELL www.cacel1.co.za electronic and cellularCameraIand WW'N.cameraland.co.za phoIographicCan~ 'ffflW.~itco.za g;1IsCanimafs www.icon.oozal-eanimalslWekxxne.htmI g;1IsCape Hospitality Suppties www.jaywalk.comIcapehospitaIity hOspilatity

Cape TV Sp..... - Africa's Spares www.capetvspares.co.za electronicand_Cape Union Mart www.c:apeunionmart.c:om aware!Cape Watchmakers S<Jpplies, Tools www.c:apewatch.c:o.za jewel1e<yCape Wine GalleIY www.capewinegalle<y.c:om -Capensis www.new.co.zal-.capensiS 1lowetsCaperbeny Corporate Gifts WNW.caperberry.CO.za gills

Cap<Mty Headwear www.captivityheadwe.co.za app;nl

Carbro Manufacturers. 'W'INI.<:artIro.c:o..za spedalist • general

Cartfles: Says it Best www.cardies.co.za gills

Cards by Erica www.geocities.comIzacardz gills

Cards for Africa WNW.cardsfurafricaco.za gifts

Cards.co.za WoNW.cards.co.za gifts

Carlina - lingerie www.mjvn.co.zafcar1ina lingene

Carol's Creations www.caroIsaeations.theshoppe.com oppareI

CarroI Boye. at Bits ofAfrica bitsofafricacom home and garden

Carrof Boyes Functionaf Art www.presenttirne.co.za arts and <:falls

Casanova www.casanovaco.za apparel

Cash Converters SOUl!> Africa www.cash-converters.co.zal dassffiedslcomparisonlpawn

Cash Register Sales and service www.cashregister.co.za s1atiooery and o1Iice

Castor Creations cc WWrN.castoccreations.CO.za specialist- general

Cat Utter W'HH.catlitter.co.za general

Catertrade WItH.eatert.co-Za hospitaIily

Cathby Trading WWVt.ea.thby.co.za home and garoenCatherine Moore Oassic ~iesWear WNW.eatherioemoore.co.za apparel

Catherine Tarr CoubJe YMW.catherioetatr.co.za apparel

Caval; Ostrich Lea!her Products Vt'iIwW.cavalli..co.za spedalist· general

CBG Cap Distributors WWN.cbg.ro.W apparel

CBG Peak Caps, SOUl!> Africa WWN.webpro.co.zatclien1slcbgl apparel

Cbi< heat usars.ialrica.comIclcblcbkheatf. home and garden

CCTVToolbox www.ectvtooIbox.co.za 01_and celll4ar

CO Orders cdorders.inextca.za spedaIisl. adJIt

C05alect OnIine WNW.c:dselec:tonflOe.CO.za music, movies, cM!

Cellia Tra<Iing VNiW.ceA"aco.za educa1ionaJlloYs

Celtt"" 'HHN.ceUtec.co.za eledronic and cellular

Celtular.<::().23 W'fNI.ceUutar.con eledronic and cellular

Central Uquors www.centralliquofs.co.za -Central Products (Mitre's Amenities) myweb.absaro.zalmitril hosllitality

Ceramics. Glass and Fancy Goods www.baskets.co.za

Chacaro Gift Hampecs W'HW.gift.-hamperato.za

Cheap Cigarettes Online WWW.c:heapcigarettes.CO.za

Chef Gear WHN.chefgear.com

Chiceo SA WNW.chicco.co.za

ChtlcoIate Fantasies www.chocshop.CO.za

ChrtstrnaSCatds.co.za www.christmasc:ards.co.za

Cigarette~ WHN.cigarettesdomajcom

City Girt WWN.citygirt.CO.za

Classic Surf WHN._.CO.za

C1assifind Ads www.dassifind.co.za

Clean-Swipes (Mallard) lJSefS.iafricaccmlal_

Clippa & BeroIex South Africa WWW.dippaco.za

Cocobay Clothing Company www.COCObay.co.za

CoC~Bay IntemetAuctlons sac;oo:H)ay.com

CocopeIli Frames ? now Jock's Indaba lJSer$.iafrica~

Coffee..co.za www.coffee.co.zaCommodore Distributors WNW.commodore.co.za

Compupos www.CClmpUpOs.co.zaCord-Less-Fones, Comptrs, CCN, AV cordIessfones.cjb.net

Corporate Gifts WWN.COIpOOIlegifls.co.za

Cosmos WWN.geocities.ccmlCOSll1OOlVeslme

Cribl<ill lne. come.toIaitikiD

Crystals Onfine www.aystalsonline.c:om

CSAFm www.csafin.ca..za

Cybercellar www.cybercellar.co.za

Cyber-Ghix www.cyberchix.oo.za

Cycle lab WHN.cyclelabshop.CO.za

0& H M1LNER WHN.\con.co.zaI-<lhmilnert

Dales Bras Estate Agents, Auctioneers WNW.daIesbros.co.za

Dandy Agencies www.dandy.co.za

Dave's Exclusive Handmade Gifts www.exclusivegifts.co.za

De BlaU'Ne Gans www.deblauwegans.co.za

Deal McCoy Price C<mp. Shopping www.dealmccoy.co.za

Designer Underwear Shop WHN.designerunderwe.CO.za

Diamoncts for Africa www.diamondsforafricacom0igitaI Cameras www.JrljvrLco.za/hdfdigitaLcameras

Digital Cameras South Africa www.digitalcameras.ca.za

Digital Designs & Systems www.edeaJs.co.za

Digital Express WWN.digilaJexpress.co.za

Digital Mall www.algilalmall.co.za

Digital Wortd WHN.wholesaIedigitaCO.za

Digitaloptics WWVi.digilaloptics.CO.za

Oippeoaar & Reinecke www.cftppenaarreineck.co.za

Discrete Products www.aoskreelapteek.co.za

Display House W'IIW.displayhouse.co..za

DJStore.co.za WHW.djstore.co.za

Dcnna-Claire WHN.donnaclaire.co.za

Octshop www.dotshop.co.za

OSF Enterprises www.dsfunline.co.za

Dud1ess and lk1iform Spedalists www.duchess.co.za

gifts

gifts

tobacco

apparel


food, beverage. groceries

gifts

tobacco

apparelsports, roe, _, hobby

classifiedslcompariSOl\'pawn

home end garden

tobacco

apparel

auctions

home and garden

food, beverage, groceries


stationery and office_ and cellular

gifts

apparel

apparel

jewellery

food, be_, groceries

alcohol

food, beverage. groceriessports, roe, _, hobby

apparel

auctions

tobacco

gifts

home

dassifiedslccmpatisonlpawn

lingerie

jewellery

photographic

phorographic

phorographic_ and cellular

general

eIedronic and cellular

photographic

apparel

health. beauty, baby

home

music, movies. dvd

apparel

specialist - general


apparel

Evertilast Online members.trl>Od-co.ukJeverblastl

Exact! www.~co.za

Exdusive Books www.exdusivebooks.cxm

Expo Uquor Wholesale www.e><poIiq.co.za

Express Schod Foods .WWW.esf.CO.23

FT H Clothing www.t.ithclothing.co.za

Fantasia Music WINi.tarrtasiamusic.CO.zaFashion CatiareI mzonMmeb.co'-dw!<Ieyn

Fast Pulse MaJawi Coffee Distributor www.lastpuIsetracli.co.za

Female Undergamlents www.touchdesign.co.za

Flel<1Crest www.fieldaeslco.za

Fine Tame WatduTlakefs. Clock Restore www.finetime.co.za

First Mail Orders www.lirstmailorders.can

A~ www.Ua~~

Fishfinger www.fistmngeronline.can

Flora Dora www.fIoradora.co.za

Flora Niche Florist www.ftoraniche.coza

FJorentines luxury Belgicm chocolates www.ftorentines.oo.za

ROOst .co.za WWW..floristoo.za

Florist Dnline WNW.ftoristonline.OJ.za

Florists (Ruby Mountain Flowers) www.ftorists.co.za

DLdo Processing

Durban Guns & Ammo

Dynamite Clothing

Eagle Appliances

Earth Addict

Earthbound

Easi-l..ace 5eIf Tying Shoelaces

Easybid

Easybuy.co.za

EIJucks Shop

Edgars

E-Diamonds

Educational Toy Shop Online

Edt.<o<p

Eikestad. Vintique

EIedric Butter1Iy

Electronics Online

Elegant Dining

EJi Stroh On-line Auctions

e-ungerie

Elite cc

ElJevetoEhnulab

Etna SOuth Africa

E1-Paso Leather $hoppe

EnergyZone

Enzer- Tedmologywith Style

Eshelby Pianos

EIhnid<s

Ethnix

INWW.duckojnfo

www.durt:languns.co.za

www.dynamitedothing.co.za

www.eagleappliances.co.za

www.earUladdict.comwww.earthllound.bestcd

WWN.easilace.co.za

W'INi.easybid.co.za

www.easybuy.co.za

WNW.ebucks.com

www.edgars.co.za

www.ediamonds.co.zawww.edueationaltoysho.co.za

www.educorp.co.za

.."."".vlntique.CO.za

www.ftowerscape.co.za

www.eIed:ronicsonline.co.za

WYiW.elegant-dining.to.za

www.e1istroh.oo.za

www.e-lingerie.co..za

www.e1itecc..co.za

www.e1Ieveto.co.za.

'W'NW.e1muJab.co.za

www.e1naco.za

www.el-paso.co.za

YNiW.energyzone.co.za

WWW.en;zer.CO.za

www.esheIbypianos.co.za

www.el:hnK:J(s.co.za

www.ethnix.co..za

hcme

fireanns

apparel

hcme

apparel

gennapparel

auclions

IJod, bererage, grocerieS

general

apparel

jeweII"'Y

educational/toys__I toys

a1oohol

I""""eIedlonicand_

hcme

auctions

lingerie

-,bererage, grocerieS

apparel

photographic

hcme

apparel


eIedlonic and cellular

roosic, movies, dvd

giIts

apparel

arts and crafts

apparel

books

ak:ohoIIJod, beverage, grocerieS

apparel

music, movies, <!Vd

apparel

IJod, beverage, grocerieS

lingerie

too<!, bererage, grocerieS

jeweIIefY

hcme

apparel

apparel

lowers

lowers

too<!, beverage, grocerieS

lowers

lowers

ftowe<s

fkJIists South Africa

AONerPower

Aowrs Online

FIC1NerS.CO.za

l!yshop.cx>-Za

Fold

ForHim Only

Fm;y Fashion

Freeads South Mica

Freest'jle Handma<le Originals

Fresh Organic Duel<

Fria(s Tucl<away Box Co.

FUlbneza Sheepskin I'roduds

G&H_es

Gadgetz

GaIe<y Mica

Ga!neSIDres

Garden Route Shop

Ganlens1lop

Gerbi Gifts

Gerda's Cfothing

Gift Candles

Gifts 4 Two

Gifts International

Gifts ofGratitude

GiftsSAcx>m

Gifts4AAica

Glen's Awesome Salad Dressing

GIobaIGrinOOrs

Glomail

Gkmhea<l GloW SIicI<s

(3o.Digita!

GOFUN

Golden Footwear

Grand Shoe

Grant Prix Unlimited

Grapevine Postcards

Grasmere Ostriches

GS VlCkers & co.

Guava .. Bandanas

-..Haritex Online

Hawes and Curtis

HeadoverHeels

Hein's l.eather

Hel1lY 'IIlmarns Florist

Herbafricacom

Ht A COnnection

Hide Design

HideWay leather

Himalayan Han<!mades

www.floristsouthafriCa.com

www.flowerpaoNer.za.net.

www.flowersonline.CO.za

'WIINI.flowers.OJ.za

www.fIyshop.co.za

WItN.fuldza.net

WWW.fofhimonIy.cx>m

www.~.<D.ra

WWW.fteeadS.CO.Za

WWW.veldskoen.co..za

www.orgaR<:dudtco.zawww.decoupage.co.zaWNW.fudumeza.com

hixnet.<D.zaJhomeIghnoveI

www.gadgetz.co..zs

www.gaIIe<yafrica.<D.za

www.game.C:O..za

www·gardenrouteshOP·co..zawww.gcudenshop.co.za

www.gerbilgifts.co.za

www.gerdaco.za

www.giftcandles.c:o.za

www.gifts4two.co.zawww.giftsintco.za

www.gog.coza

www.giftssacom

www.gift.s4afrk:acom

www.gJensawesome.com

W</W.g1oba1-grinde<s.cx>m

WW'YI.g1omail.co.za

~nellirms.cx>m

www.godigltal.<D-Za

www.gofun.c:o.za

www.bJtwork.c:o.za

www.geodtiescomlgrandshoestore/htmI

www.grandprixunlimico..zawww.gapevineposlcar.c:o.za

www.grasmereostrlchcx>m

www.gsvickers..co.za

www.gu:ava.co.za

www.habits.co.za

W'NW.haritex.co.za

WW'N.hawesandcurtis.co..za

www.headovefheeIs.co.zawww.heinsleather.can

WYM'.henrywiUiams.aua

www.herbafricacom'IN(IIl.hfficxu:o..za

hidedesign.co..za

W</W.tideway\ealtler.<D.za

www.kaIhmandu.C:O.za

fIowefs

fIowefs

fIowefs

fIowefssports, rec., _, twby

apparel

apparel

apparel

Classified ads

apparel


arts and aaftsapparel

gifts

general

arts and crafts

general

geoerol

homegifts

apparel

gifts

home

gifts

gifts

gifts

gifts


home

general

gifts

electronic and cellul3r

entertainment

apparel

apparel

apparel

gifts and cards

apparel

apparel

apparel

apparel

cigaretles

apparel

specialist - aduIl

speciarlSt - aduIl

1Iowe<sfood, beverage, groceries

electronic and ceIluar

apparel

apparel

apparel

Hirsch's

Hi-TecMagnum

Hi-Turn Sales

Hobby Specialists

HomeMark

HooHgans Ki<ls CIo1hing

House of Coffees

House of Nappies

Hyannis Port

lBS Premium Books

Identity Watch

iAora

iFJowers Internet Aorist

lmage Creatorlmagemakers

Impact: Video Online

Ind-lex Products

Innerpiece

Interflora

International Coffee Equipment

Inlersoft

inthebag.com

Intimate Toys South Africa

Investment Clothing

IrieHemp

Ithemba Gems

It'sAfiica

lzami Florist - B10emf0ntein

Jacques JanssensJames RaJph (Ply) Ltd.

Jasons Rowers

Jazz For Africa

Jeep Clothing Stores

Jenna Ctifforct

Jessica's Clothing

JIB Indlio Importers and Exporter;

Jim Green Footwear OnIine Shop

Jockey UndefwearJoI1annesbury Fresh Produce_

JohnCraig

JollyJurnbo

Jonsson Clothing

Jumbo Cash and eany

JungleShop

JunkMaH

Just Rowers

Just Roses

Just You- Fashion Ix El<ecutives

JustClothing

JustGifls

Kalahari Arms

www.hirschs.co.za

www.hi-tecmagnum.oo.za

WWW.hitumsales.co.za

WHH.hobbyspetialisls.co.za

www.hornernal1t.co.za

www.hooligansl<ids.com

WWW.houseofcoffees.co.za

www.houseoJnappies.co.za

WWW.hyanrisportoo.za

WWN.ibs.co.za

www.ident:it}twatch.co.za

wwwjf\oraoo.Z1JI

www.iflowers.co.za

www.imagecreator.co.za

www.imagemakers.co.za

www.impactvideo.co.za

www.e-ostrich.OJmwww.innerpiec:e.coza

www.interflora.co.za

www.icesa.za.net

www.~co.za

www.inthebag.co.za

www.intimatetoys.co.za

www.investmentdothing.com

www.iriehemp.co.za

www.ithembagems.co.za

www.itsafric:a-<:c.com

WYIW-izami.2Om.com

INW'N .jacquesjanssens.com

www.jamesralph.com

www.jasonsftowers.co.za

W'NW.jazzforafrica.co.za

www.jeepstore.co.za

www.jennadifford.co.za

W'NW.jessicas.a>.za

welcome.toJjiUindrio

www·fmgreenfooh¥ear·co.za

www.jod<e.l.co.za

www.jfpm.co.za

www.johnaaig.co.za

www.joIlyjumbo.co.za

www.jonsson.co.za

www.jumbo.co.za

www.jungleshop.com

www.junkmail.co.za

www.justflowers.co.za

www.justroses.co.za

W'H'II.justyou.co.za

www.justdothing.co.za

W'N'N.iust9i1\S.co.za

www.kalahacianns.com

home

app;>reI

gifts

sports, rec., hobby

home

apparel

food, be'rerage, groceries


apparel

books

gifts

lowers

lowersappateI

apparel

music- movies, dvd

apparel

home

lowers

home

books


spedalist - adultapparelappateI

arts and crafts

apparel

lowers

apparel

jewellery

lowers

music, movies. dvd

apparel

apparel

apparel

apparel

apparel

apparel


apparel

food, be'rerage, groceries

apparel

general

classifiedslc:omparisonlpawn

auction

ftowOlS

lowers

apparel

apparel

gifts

firearms

Kalahari.net

Kana Knitwear

Kana's Wholesalers

Kaos Collectables

Kaoz-Afric Designers

Kaplan lNhoIesalers

KartallndustrY Wear

KaZoo Creations

Keedo Childrens Clothing

KhalIi Clolt'ing & Corporate Wear

KidOles Direct

Kirgdom Amenities Suppliers

Kinghom Brushware

KlNXFetish

Kitchen Garden

KitI:hens Systems BectricaI

K1ein Karoo Co-operative Umited

KoaIaKare

Kottlers gift store

LA GroupUd.

LaBomboni"'"

la Marina Foods

Leather InnovationsLegacy's Gifts

Lekker Deals

Leo Garments

Lets TalkAbout So:<

Life-Ught Rashlight

Undiwe Kuzwayo

lingerie Lair

Ungerie Lane

livingstones Garden Warehouse

LoanCOlp

Look & Us!en

Lowest Offer Wins

Lucky's Discount <:entre

l.ucy Clothing Manufacturers

Lynmar PronxJtions - T-shirt printers

M.IJ<.Vetldng

Macaroni KidS Clothing

Madam and Eve

MAGSatHOME

MagZooe

Makoti Down Products

Makotis

Mai<roMaIingi Trading

Maluti Wale<

Marlon Trading (Pvt) lid.

Materialistic

Mazoe dotcom

WNN.kaIahari.net

WWN.kaInitOO.za

www.kanas.co.za

W'NW.kaos.web.za

www.kaoz-amc.co.za

home.tiscalico.za/-20359S99

WNW.kartaI.CO.za

WNW.kazooc:reations.co.za

www.keedo.co.za

WNW.khaJ<1dub.co.za

WNW.kiddiesdirect.co.za

m\'Web.absamail.co.za.l<ingdomsuppiers

WNW.kinghorn.co.za

WWW..kinx.co.za

www.kitchengarden.coza

'W'HN.kse.CQ.z:a

www.kJeinkaroo.co.za

www.d1icco.co.za...koala.htm

www.kott1ersamca.co.za

www.lagroup.co..za

www.labomboniera.co.za

www.lamarinafoods.co.za

www.leatherinnovations.C:O.za

www.legacys.co.za

homepagan_comIIroy.dil<e

www.leogarments.co.za

www.letstalkaboutsox.com

www.life..lightco.za

www.lindiwekuzwayo.co.za

www.lingerielair.co.za

wwwJingerie.co.za

www.livingstones.co.zaW'NW.kJancoJp.co.za

www.lookarKIisten.co.zawww.low.coza

W'H'N.ludtys.co.za

wwwJucy.cozawww.lynmar.co.zawww.mikverdng.co.za

www.macaronidothing.co.za

www.madameve.OJ.za

WNW.magsathome.CO.za

www.magzone.co.za

www.makoti.co.za

www.makotis.co.za

www.makro.CO.za

YMW.mafmgi.com

www.maIuti.co.za

www.rnarfonco.zw

www.materialistic.co.za

WNW.mazoe.com

books

apparel

apparel

educationallloys

apparel

eppareI

apparel

homeapparel

apparel

educational I toys

entertainment

home

specialisl- adJIl

home

home

arts and crafts

heaI1h, beauty, baby

arts and craftsapparel

gifts


eppareI

gifts

general

apparel

epparel


eppareI

lingerie

lingerie

home

classifieds/comparisoofpawn

music, movies. <!vdauction

home

eppareI

eppareI


eppareI

books

books and magazines

books and magazines

home

apparel

wholesale

general



home

books

Me CUllagh &_1

~

MeMll&Moon

Memory StorngeSys»ms

MetaboIlica Clothing

_ Frey's Fresh Meat KZ-IlolalMilitary and Nmy _

Mililaty S1ore$

Milenitek

MiIord CIolhi""Mindgil\$

MiWa'.-..-More1t>an Flowe!s

~'MMEslat&

Mount Rozief

MrMaltreosOnline

MslJ.lpanoMtIliv_ SeMcescc

MtIlibrnoi

~ peyer VIOlins

MuSca

Musita mstruments

Must Haves

M-WebShopping

My Che<i lJiamonds

Mystique Exclusive GillsNabeela VVho1esalm;

Nadya'sCreations

Natural Bra.

Ne<lert>uPJ Wines

NEDSA

Net_

NetFlorist

Nevapayret>ltwn

Nikonbrol<er

Nine Rad1e Shoe Cdfed:ion

NiIle-2-FlV. Jewelle<y

NMGTradinIlNMK S</1lJIZ Fllle \'Anes am SpiJils

NoGapGiftS

Novel Greeting carosNumain Cash &. carryNu1ri Rusl<>

NWJ Jewelle<s

N)'O'i See

Oasi.TradinIl

0!lf00

Ocean arts

OggiClolhing

One-Twenty Clothing

www.mcandb.co.zaW'NN.meg:ashoppef'.C;Q.za

www.rne!viltandmoon,COO\

WWW.~O;).UI

www.\lllOCities.ca.llibv·ua

WN'N.1'i'eshmeat.CO-Z3

WN'W.arm:tstores:.to.za

www.~.co.n

WNN.milenitek.CO.za

wv.w.mto«ieo.zawww.mindgfft$.oozs

www..rnitnl$.-co.zaW'NN_~eo.za

www.rnorethanftoWers.co..nWNW.margenhof.CO.za

W\Ii\¥.Jl'1OUI"ltJoZi.ec:uaWNoN.rmnattress.CQ.Z3

www.geocities.comImslupanoIinhtml

www~wn

WNW.muttibfaai.CO..zahome._.~

www.musica.co,u

www.mt.lSic:ain:stlunents.oo.:zaVIW-N.must..-tlaveSOnline.eom

WWW.mweb.oo.Z3

www.lTlyCheri<liamonds.com

www.myslique.aua

WINI.nabeelawhoiesalers.co.za

www.~.co.za

www.naturafbras.oo.za

WWllIl.nedetburgwines.CO.za

homeWOf1donline.co.""~

W'N'N.netflowe's.eo.:z:a

www.netBOOslCO-3

www.~.oom

nik_er.lripodoom

www.rinaroche.CtJZit

WoINi.rine2fiw_ttlZa

www.nmg\ra<ing=www.nmk.ooza

vmN.noga.pgifts..CO..3

www.oovet~co.za

www.m.trTJ;3fn,co.z.a

WWN,nutrirusks.CO.za

www.J1'Nj.<:O-la

WN'N.rrjOSi.-bee.c:om

WHW.oasisttadeflt1k..com

W'INJ.cbros.co..za

oceanartaco.zaVHIW.ogt;j.,eo,za

'WWW.one-tNenty.<::om

apparel

genemIoporlS, re<;., _, hobby

et_and celluJarapparel

rood, beVerage. grtlOO<ies"""""' re<;.,_, hobby

sports, =,-, hobby

-.beauty, baby

-'"litls~

eledtoolc and oeIlu1or

gifts--home

-'"food, beverage, gro<;e<les

home and garOen

music, movies, <f«l



genemI

genemI

jewellery

gifts


gifts

-'"-'books

-.-"""""' rec.,_. hobby

~

-'"jewellery

genemI-gifts

gills and cards

rood, beVerage, grtlOO<ies

food, beverage. grtlOO<ies

jewell"'Y

-""jewellery

home

gifts and cards

-'"-""

Online Florist

OOdles of Doodles

Orient Gash & CarTy

Orlon's BeltOut of the Blue

OverIaM

Pando<a Bra SllJdio

Pappa's Pizza Ovens

Paradiso

PalagOn Boxes and Gifts ex:Parldane Corporate Clothing

Parsons Home Appliances cc

Parties 4 Africa

PaI1yShop

PaI1yXpress

Pay less 2 Smoke

PEG - Premium Executive Gifts

Pelfecl Gift

Perfectly Pretty Ungerie & Bra's

Perie erAfiique - Beads ofAfrica

Personalised labels

Pharmacy4u

Phonemac

Pick 'n Pay Home Shopping

Pick-A-Print

Pink He<Jgehog

Piper Fox

Plascon

Police Sungiasses

Polo

Pondorosa Uquour Store

PorteMlle CeDaR;

PRVending ex:Prelude Texliles

Premium Cape Vl/ines

Presence

Presents South Africa

P_HyperPrick'nStitch Keepsake Cards

Products ofSouth Africa

Projeclar Portal

Propens

Pulse Clothing

Pure Pleasure (Stingay)

Purists Boulevord

Q'Dos

QUality Products Soap Manufacturers

Rad1el Gee - Natural KnitHear

Radeen Fashions

Rainbow Embroidery

RanchMeat

'W'NW.webemporium.OO:zaJflr:NIe1S1

'IrNII.oodlesofdood\e$.oo.za

www.orientco.za

'NN'H.Oflonsbelt.co.zawww.oot-of.-the-btue.co.za

www.overtand.za..com

users.iafrice.o:>mIpIpb/pbshosaf

www.adsforafricaco.zaIpizzaovens

WWYI.Paradiso.oo.zawww.paragonboxesandglfts.co.za

www.par1danecorpora.co.zawww.parsons.co.za

WWYI.parties4afiica.co.za

WWVi.partyshop.CO.za

www.partyxpress.CO.za

www.payIess2smoke.c:om

www.peggiflco.za

WN'Ii.perfedgiflco.za

www.lingerie-business.com

www.per1~com

www.pertabels.co.za

www.~4u.oo.za

WWYI.phonemac.co.za

prod.hs.pnp.co.za

www.pi<;kaprinlnet

www.saeverything.co.zalpinkhedgehog.htm

www.pipertox.co.za

WIN'N.p1ascon.co..za

WIffl.poI"lCe-sunglasses.co.za

www.poIl>saco.za

home.yebo.co.zal-20031387

porte<viIJeceIlars.co.zaI

www.pvending.com

www.preludelex.com

www.premiumc:apeNines.com

www.presence.co.za

www.presents.co.za

www.presidenthyper.co.za

www.pricknstitch.comWN'It.produdofsa.co.za

WWVi.projee:torport:ll.CO.za

www.propens.co.za

www.pulsecIothing.co.za

WW'N.purepleasure.co.za

www.puristsboulevard.co..za

www.qdos.co.za

www.tradepage.co.zalqualityproducls

WHN.natlzaIkrUtNear.com

www.radeen.co..za

W'N'N.ralnbawembroidery.com

www.ranchmeat.co.za

gifts

food, -.go, groceries

-onaIItoys

apparel

food, -.ge, groceries

lingerie

home and garden

I"""'"gifts

apparel

horne and garden

entertainment

entertainmententertainment

1obeecogifts

gifts

Iirlgerie

appasel

apparel


electronic and ceIIWlr

food, -.go, groceries

arts end aafts

I"""'"gifts

home and garden

apparel

appaseI

alcohol

alcoholfood, beverage, groceries

specialisl- general

alcoholgifts

gifts

general

arts end aafts

appaseI

electronic end celllW

general

appaseI

home and garden

general

appaseI

home and garden

eppaseI

apparel

eppaseI


apparel



gifts

tireanns

educationalnoys

apparel

eIeclronic and celllJar

gifts

apparel

apparel

apparel

apparel


apparel

apparel

spedalist· general

""'"'"heaJtl1, beauty, baby

auctionS1alionery and0_general

alcohol

sports, rec.. outIIoor, hobby

apparel


specialist· general

apparel

music, movies, dvdgifts

home and garden



gifts

""'"'"sports. rec., outIIoor, hobby

apparel

general

""'"'"gift

apparel

stationerY and office

gift

apparel

apparel

gift

gift

entertainmentspecialist· aQJIl

general

edlJ;;ationa!IW

WWW.rogue.CO.za

ho<ile.globaI.co.zat-silvanalro_

WNW.roseshandmade.COza

www.rosewoodshoppe.co.za

www.rsaIeisurewear.co.za

www.rubitex..c:o.za'WWW~oo.za

WWW.OC-nam.COO1

www.ryflCOr.comWW'N.sacashregister.oo.za

www.saproducts.biz

WrNW.wine.co.za

www.sadsacks.co.za

WNW.geocities.com1imexsa2000

WWW.saeco.co.za

www.sawebs.co.zalsafetyfirst

www.stgbags.co..za

www.sarnpledivisionco.za

www.sanluziaco.za

users.iafrica.comIlItuIluflcU1dex.htm

WWW.satooz.c:om

WWW.savemoor.co.za

www.sayitwithc:hocoate.c:o.za'IIftoN.interIlora.co.za

www.scubashop.co.zawww.secondskins.co.zawww.seIl....J\hin9.5u..c:omwww.sendfIowers.co.za

www.sensations.co.zawww.shanti<:otton.co..m.

www.sharpsaco.zawww.shelleysartgfass.co.zawww.shen::o.co.za

www.eshoes.co..za

groups.msn.comtShopSouthAIfine

www.shopgifts.co.zawww.shopasave.co.za

www.shophustIer.co.za

www.shoppinghandbag.co.za

www.theshoppingmalrix.c:om

www.remotesunlimiled.a>m

www.sandrailjonco.za

www.riXonshirts.com

www.robroy.lV

www.raveunderwear.oomwww.xtdube.com

WWN.RaysGourmet.com

www.redIorry.oo.za

www.redsrange.co.za

www.reggies.co.za

www.reIuke.co.za

Rave Clothing

Rave Personal Care

RaysGourmetc:om

RedlorTy

Red's Range Guns (Motose Alms)

Reggies

Reluke Hat an<! Cap Manufa<turefS

Remotes Unlimited

Ribbons & GiitMap SpeQalists

Ri>on Shirts

Rctl Ray

Rogue Outdoor loalher Gear

Rcsel<nil

Rose's Handmade Confectionery

Rosewood Sl10ppe

RSA Leisure'Near

RUbil"" Fashion Fabrics

Rtby MOUfItain Rowers

RxNam.com

Ryncor On-line

SA Cash Reg;ster

SA Products.Biz

SAWine Shop (see above)

Sad Sacks

Saddle Up Jeans

Saeco Coffee, Espresso, Machines

Safety FiIsl

Saleys Travel GoodsSample OMsion

San Luzia Gifts

Sandstorm Deco«llive Sandblasting

SATOOZ

S",""""" cash & Cony

Say it with Chocolate

S"t~W>\h_

Scuba-. Skate- & VanShop

Seoond Skins

Sellanylhing.5u.a>m

Send Flowers

Sensations

Shanti Cotton

Sharp

Shelley's Art & GlaSS

Sherco Group

Shoes by Appointment

Shop for SA Products

Shop Gifts

ShopASave

ShopHustIer

.S~ng HandllaQ

S~ngmalrix.com (now Toyzz.com)

Silk Concepts 0:: users.iafiiCa.oomIstsilsilkSilver People YMW.siNerpeopfe,ooza

Simonsvtei Winery W'WW.simonsvtei.co.za

SimpleSt""" www.$implestone.com

Single Shot- Cigorette Vending www.singIeohol.za....

SIaws Sears """""Ianlic."-'"Sflflgsh0ts4u www.slingshols4u.......

Slcare Meat _ www,he<>!"!l-eatOO2a

SmoI<irlgSA www.smclOl1g$a.oo2ll

~ www.~co.za

Soapy Options WWN,~C<lm

- _Image WWW.SOUI1dan<limage.COz>Sounds Unique www,SQIlfldsL<liqua<:Qz>

SounclT«h www.SOlI"1dboc!too.za

SoulhAlrican Corp. Gill andTr<1>hY www.vinallti.oomSoulh Mican Diamoods www._O:>.2:"Soolh AIrican Grocories WWN.~"""

SoolhMican~T"""'. www.saIl......oo.zaSouth African Wine WWW'.w!ne.oozs

Soulh A_.com '."'uouthamcal1$,comSQuthem Africall Mirleti:ts fOf Sale www.samin.CQ.zaSo-Jiet Jeans www,sovie1jeans.oo....

Spar Home Orders ''NWW.homeocd'ers.spar.W..la

SpiraI-tatex www.spiral-latex.oom

Spat1mal1sW_ wwwS\'l!tco.za

Spring TIde Childrens Swimwear WWN.springtidesaco.za

Sptingbol; Tra<fing www.~.co.za

Stlrs & Slripes www.starsandstripes.co.za

Stationery and As! www.~co.za

Slikinl Bikini WWN.sfikini.COZi

Straight Unes www._Itht-lines.OO,UI

Streetcar.com www.streetcar.comStrongbow -A2ZHotoI S\lppIie5 www.a2ZholelSlJPPlies.""z>_ www.__co....

Suo':;es$I\JI~ng www.~oo.za

Sun Moon- Star www.SUJYl.JOOOStar.co.zaSUnsloppe<s www.sunsl<lppefs.oo....

S.-wniwellSystems www.supertJcashregisters.oo.zaSuperSites supe<sites.CO.Zll

Supreme Gifts OnIine www.sup<eITle-ilift.eo.za

Swear www.Y$Neat.oon_,_ www,sweetsint.oom

Swopsl1cp WWW.~,coZi

SWS T«hC.C. www._.co:za

T. Birch and Co. {Ply)Ud .......,bircl>s.co.za

Table Bay S"I'I'lies www.tablebaysupplies.co.za

Take 2 WNW.take2.CO:za

Taste of Japan WNW.lasteOljapan.eo.za

Taybron Trading WNW.lajIlroo.eo.za

Tayler&CO. WineaOOSpjrit_ WNW,taylerwines,CO....

Taylor Bath aOO Candles www_es.com

apparel

j<weIlery

aIoohoIjewelIe<y

tobacoogil\$--food. t>e¥erage, groceries

1llbaccosports, reo.,_, hot>by

home aOO gasdOO

electronic aOO te!lular

_atd te!luIar_atd_gills

jewelIely

general

apparel

aIoohoIfood. t>e¥erage, groceries

jewelIe<y

apparel

food. llevemge, groce<les

spe<:ialist - aduI\spoIlS, rec.,_, hot>by

apparel

apparel

apparel

arts aOO C!3ftsapparel

apparel

gills

hospitaIiI¥

apparel

apparel

apparel

apparel

hospitality

general

gills

apparel

I0o:I, t>e¥erage, groceries

general

pl>otograptie

apparel

Ilospitality

lll\J$io, 1TlCMes, dv<l

food. beve!age, groceries

home aoo garden

aIoohoI

gill

Silk Concepts cc users.iafrica.comtstsilsilk

Silver People www.silverpeople.co.za

Simonsvlei Wnery W'NW.simonsvfei.co.za

SimpleStone www.sirnplestone.com

Single Shot - Cig<Irette Vending www.singleshotzacx

Slazus Sears users..lantic.netlslazus/

Slingsh0ts4u www.s1ingshots4u.com

Soane Meat Market WWW.heat--n-eatco.za

SmokingSA www.smoIOngsa.co.za

Sneakers www.sneakers.co.za

Soapy Options www.soapyoptions.com

Sound and Image www.soundandimage.co.za

Sounds lJnique www.soundsunique.co.za

SouncfTech www.SOlXldtech.co.za

South African Cofp. Gift and Trophy WWW.vinaIIti.com

South African Diamonds www.diamonds.co.za

South Mican Groceries www.sagroceries.comSouth African UfeslyIe Trends www.sett-saco.za

South African Woe W\'fW.wine.coza

South Africans.com WWN.southafricanS.com

Southern African Minerals For sale WNW.sarlin.co-Za

Soviet Jeans WNW.sovie1jeans.co.n

Spar Home Orders '\- WNW.homeocders.spat.coza

Spiral-latex www.spiraHatex.com

Sportmans Warehouse www.SYftt.co.za

Spring Tide Childrens Swimwear www.springtidesa.co.za

Sp<ingbok Trading www.springboktrading.oo.za

Stars & Stripes www.~pes.co.za

Stationert and Art www.stationeryandartco.za

Stikini Bikini W'MY.stikini.co.za

Straight Unes www.straight-lines.co.za

Streetcar.com www.streetcar.comStrongbow - KZZ. Hotel Supplies www.a2zholelsupplies.co.za

StlJttafords www.sbJttafords.co.za

SuccessfuJDressing www.successfuldtessing.coza

Sun Moon Star YwWN.sunmoonstar.co.za

SUnstoppers www.sunstoppers.co.za

SuperbUniwellSystems www.superbcashregisters.co.za

SuperSiles supersites.coza

Supreme Gifts OnIine www.supreme-gifts.co.za

Swear www.&Near.co.za

Sweets International www.sweetsintcom

Swopshop www.swopshop.coza

SWS Tedt C.C. WWIN.swstech.CO.za

T. Birch and Co. (PIy)l.td www.bin:hs.coza

Teble Ba'! Supplies www.teblebeysupplies.oo.za

Take 2 www.take2.co.za

Teste of Jepen www.tasteoljapan.coza

Teybron Trading www.leyl>ron.oo.za

Teyler & Co. wne and Spirit Merchents www.teylerNines.coza

Teylor Beth and Candles www.bathendcandles.com

apparel

jewellery

alcohol

jewellery

tobecco

gifts

entertainmentfood, beverage, groceries

tobecco

sports, rec., outdoor, hobby

home and garden


eIecIronic and cellular

eIecIronic and cellular

gifts

jewellery

gene<aJ

apparel

alcohol

food, _se. groceries

jewenery

apparel

food, -se. groceries

speciaJist - aduIl

sports. re<:., outdoor. hobby

apparel

apparel

apparel

erts end aafts

eppereI

apparel

gifts

t>ospitaJity

apparel

apparel

apparel

eppareI

t>ospitaJity

generaJ

gifts

apparel


generaJ

~

eppareI

hosI'i\aIittmusic. mcMes, ctvdfood, beverage, groceries

home end garden

alcohol

gilt

T....vTekwenl Clothing

T<>feffon> Turkey - South AIrica

T""dott1ing

The Asian Discovery

Tho Assistant ('IlatioJlery)

ThollarShop

Tho Belil<off Gn:>Jp

The Cra-roteur Tie CO.

Tho Cross Trainer

The Crystol company

Tho Digital Pub

Tho Exdlement S_

The Gift Sasket

Tho Gift companyTho Goods She<llndooff'Ie_The Jacl<le Brown Collection

The tace Shop

The MiOOframe Te<:Iu1ique

The Music Shop for Piar>os

Tho Not lady 0<1line

ThopawnShop

The Peanut Galle!y

The Pink Hedgehog

The Plush Company

The Pro Shop

The Rich Shop

The SafM Club

The Soull> Mican Food Shop

The Spring ColIedion

The Style Fact<>ty

The wand companyTheWoo Boutique

theBesU'tice.cozaTheFai<ySh<!p

Thinl Eve_,Cross-S_ SUpplies Oniine

Thrupps

T_Trading

TIfIleSlice

TIlanic Model $hip

TJ Collection Shoes

ToI<oIo_

Toms

Top Vending

Toprod<s GennstOl1<lS & Mineral.

TOl'>iewTowIe$ Edgar Jacobs (P1)') Lld

TrndestwT_no Cklthing

Trophy City

W\WIJeesav.W:za

www,tek'Neni.co.za

VfflW.leleft<><aoom.trlSO<Jttlalrica.php

'WW'H.tavteb.8m.com

.WWW.asiandiStX1YeJ../.oo.u

'ttWW.Iheas.sistant.OO-Za

memlJer$._.absa.to~

www.beIikoff.com

www.eravateur.<Xt.zaWW'N .xtrainer.tXtU

www.crystalcompany.co.za

VfflWJlledigitalpub.ccm

WWtN,excitefJleict.coZl

~l.netfirms.oom

W'HW.thegiflwlll)3fl"f.CO.za

www.~Q1.z:a

www.Ulej~.co.za

www.1hefac::eshop.conWYlW,mindfi'ametechrli.c:orn

VfflW.1!lemU>ie>hop.<Xl.za

www.nut1ad)..to.za

www.thepawnsllop.co...

www.~Ie<y.=

WViW.saflOfistco.2a

www.pfushco.co.za

www.theproshop.C02a

www.richshop.co..za

safaridub.co..za

VfflW.sout!>a~comI

www.springcolIectioo.co...

www·slyl_rv·co...WNW.waPIJ.co.CO.za

www.wineatCeIlarprioes.co.za

www.thebestprk:e.OO.23

VfflW.foilysl1op.co...

W'NW.U1iJ'd.eyac:o.zawww.threads.oo.za

WWN.~CO.za

www.tia:go.<::O.D

WNW.timesIke,c:oza

WNW'-CO.2a/lnOdelslipsltilani<:.lltmI

VfflW.lj<ollection.CO'"

WW'H~~net

WWN.toms.CO.za

VfflW.topven<ing.CO...

www.loprod<s.infoWNW,(».co.nItvl

WNW·tel·CO...WrNrN .t:radst:ar.C02a

www.treotinodothing.conwww.troph;'netnet

appamI

apparel

!low....

appamI

homo

stationery and office

homo

apparel

apparel

apparel

jeWelIe<yelectronicanil_gene<al

gi1ls

gi1ls

~

apparel

apparel


_MlOIllfood.__ groceries

gene<al

/loSpltaIity-e<Iucation3ll\Oya

sports, rec., outdoor. hol>by

lingerie

gi1lsfood. __ groceries

home

apparel

gifts-gene<al

gi1ls

gi1ls

sports, rec., hol>by

food. bevelage,~

apparel

photographio

llUdl<x\appalIlI

apparel-llospftslily

jewelleIy

heaItt>, beauty. baby

appalIlIIood,__ groceries

awarespeoiaIist. genelal

True love Diamond Cutting VIorks

TlIfflOOhs

Tummies Maternity Wear

Tums'nTots

Tutuka.com

U&ME Baby Products

Unioro Flf1dings

Unipos Retail Solutions

Utop;an Vending

Van RensburgsFoods

VdB Trading

Ved"ICBooks

Vending Designs CC

Vetimark

Vet Products Ontine

Vl3la ModaVino-Tech Woes

Virtual FloristVisual Creations

Vrtria Gla$S'Nare

Vodacom Gear On~neVolpes Onftne

VS Online (Van SChaiklKaIahanlWalrus Clothing

waJtons

W_MaIket

WatchCo

Water Filters and Purifiers

Waterama Waterski's and kcessories

Waterfront Leathers

Webagift:

Webbikes

Webshop

VVhat's in? The Basket:!

W1eeI A Deal

Whirlpool SA (PlY) Ud

VVild Affair Flowers

Wine Village - Hennanus

IMnecen.rWlNEdolCQM

IMneMaJl

IMnes-4-U

WnesCenter

WNEstores.co.za

IMngWalker

Wizard Clo1hing

Wordswor1h

www.herbafricacomWypamaka

Xtreme 8ectronics

xTremeGear

www.truelovediamond.eo.za

WNW.truworths.co.za

home.new.co.zaf-tummiesmatemity

www.turnstots.co.za

W'NW.tutukacom

www.uandme-b~by.c;om

www.uniorofindings.co.za

users.lafrlcacomlulun/tlnipos

www.utopianvending.co.za

www.vrfoods.co.za

.WWW.vdbtrading.com

www.vedicbooks.co.%3

www.vendingdesigns.qb.net

www.verimark.co.za

www.vetproductsonflne.co.za

www.vialamodacom

www.geocities.CQm/janizal

www.virtualflorislcoza

www.visualcreations..co.za

www.vitriaco.za

WNN .vodacorngear.co.za

www.volpes.co.za

www..ISCrline.co.za

www.walrus.cozaWNW.Waltons.CO.za

WNW.watctvnarket.CO.za

www.watchco.co.za

www.virginh2o.co.za

www.waterskl.co.za

www.ostrich.co.za

www.webagiflco.za

www.webbikes.co.za

www.webshop.cozaWNW.gift:basketsaCO.za

WYoW.wheeladeal.eom

www.whirtpootco.za

www.wildaffairflowers.eom

www.wine-viI1age.eom

www.wineceD:at.co.za

www.winedotcom.co.za

www.winemail.co.za

www.w1nes4-u.oom

www.winescenter.com

www.winestores.co.u\NWW.wingwalker.co.za

www.wizardc..co.za

www.wordsworth.co.za

www.herbafrica.com

www.grobler.co.zalwypamakalindex.htm

WNW.extreme--elec.com

www.xtremegear.coza

jewellery

apparel

apparel

apparel

general


jewellery


hospitality


apparel

books

hospitality

general

pets

apparel

alcohol

ftowers

gifts

gifts

apparel

home

book.

apparel


jewellery

jewellery

home

sports, rec., ootdoor. hobby

apparel

gifts

sports, rec., ootdoor, hobby


gifts

dassifiedslcomparison/pawn

home and garden----alcoholalcohol

alcohol

sports, rec., ootdoor. hobby

apparel

books


stationerY and office

elecIronic

sports, rec., ootdoor, hobby

Yebo Bedronics f Fort777

YETI OnUne Shopping

Ycmg Designer's Emporium

YtShining

Zen Gardens

ZenPoint Hammocks

ZifferetU Executive Italian Men's Wear

Zio cash & carryZip

lalke FruitEJ<portefs

WWrN.fort777.co.za

W'NW.yeti.co.za

WYIW.yde.CO.za

WNW.webserv.co.zalytshining

W'NW.zengarden.co.za

WWW.hammocks.co.za

www.zifferelfHtarlal1rl.lenSWear.com

www:zio.co.za

WWW.zipsaCO.za

www.zonke.coza

elo::tronie

sports, reo., outdoor. hobby

apparel

general

gifts

sports, reo.. outdoor. hobl:>y

apparel

food. bevelage. grooerie$

food. bevelage. groceries

food. bevelage. groceries

E-commerce- The impact of internet techology on retailing

Documents

Transcript of E-commerce- The impact of internet techology on retailing